Intermodal Spot Rate Pricing Trendline Analysis

Weekly discussion and analysis on the trends in the intermodal spot rate market.

For the week of November 27, 2023, domestic intermodal spot rate index:

• Down 0.5% from prior week.
• Down 11% from prior year.

Year-to-Date Intermodal Volume by Region and Railroad

(Please note to not read too much into the data yet, as the holiday schedule in 2023 versus 2022 is impacting the percentages.)

North American Intermodal 

• -7.1%

Intermodal Volume by Region

• United States: -6.3%

Railroad

• BNSF:  -11.6
• CN:       -17.1
• CPKC: -4.0
• CSX:     -7.9
• GMXT: -0.2
• NS:        -3.3
• UP:        -3.1

Comparison of Truckload to Intermodal Spot Rate 

National Truckload Spot Rate, as reported by the DAT Trendline Report:

• Up 2.5% from prior week.
• Down 13.5% from prior year.

Domestic 53' Intermodal Spot Rate:

• Down 0.5% from prior week. 
• Down 10.6% from the prior year.

For a full review of the 2nd Qtr 2023 US Intermodal Savings Against Truckload we point you to a tremendous piece of research the Journal of Commerce publishes quarterly.

Diesel Fuel Comments: 

The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) reported average diesel fuel price of $4.146 per gallon this week, which is down $0.144 or 3.4% from the prior week.

The diesel price per gallon is down $0.995 or 19.4% from the same period last year.

The full spreadsheet of the historical weekly price moves of diesel full can be found at https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/. 

Intermodal Spot Rate Trend Graphs

For more on 53' domestic intermodal, truckload , cross-border and managed transportation services, please sign-up for our weekly blogs and visit the InTek Freight and Logistics website.