Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Jun 11, 2012 10:25AM EDT
Schneider National and CSX Transportation have expanded their multiyear contract to allow the truckload giant to provide intermodal service at two rail ramps in Northwest Ohio.
The expanded service connecting to rail ramps in Marion and North Baltimore will strengthen Schneider Intermodal’s connections to the Northeast, Southeast and Pacific Northwest. The expanded contract is also expected to boost capability through the U.S and Mexico.
“We will continually evolve our asset-based intermodal solutions with strong rail providers to ensure this success. Our service options enhancement in Ohio follows our brand promise to offer ‘truck-like’ service by creating more creative solutions to move freight,” said Steve van Kirk, Schneider National senior vice president, intermodal commercial management.
CSX’s North Baltimore terminal is the western anchor of CSX’s National Gateway double-stack corridor, a more than $900 million initiative aimed at improving connections between the Midwest and Atlantic ports. Schneider and CSX in January signed a multiyear contract to expande their intermodal partnership in the Eastern U.S., and the trucking company extended its partnership with BNSF Railway last month.
The expanded partnership comes as shippers in the East and the Midwest increasingly find it harder to secure truck capacity. Intermodal growth in the Eastern U.S. led the overall market in the first quarter, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. Domestic intermodal volume jumped 14.9 percent year-over-year last quarter, outpacing international intermodal traffic expansion of 2.9 percent in the same period.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc.