When it comes to domestic transportation, shippers have two primary modes to move significant freight volumes long distances - truckload and intermodal. While truckload can take cargo anywhere there are roads, the optimal use of intermodal depends heavily on proximity to railroads that fit a company's shipping needs. The good news for those interested in reaping the cost, capacity and carbon benefits of intermodal is, the vast majority of shippers are likely to find they are a fit.
In this article, we'll uncover the top intermodal lanes of 2024 to show which ones are most used and well-serviced. The best intermodal lanes include many major cities and freight routes. But if your needs aren't covered by the lanes on this list, don't fret - and make sure you make it to the end of the article for additional help.
What makes a top intermodal route?
Defining a top intermodal route is a two-pronged question. For the purposes of whether the best intermodal lane is a better fit than the best truckload lane, consider this three-step test:
- Length of haul - The best fit for intermodal tends to be a haul of 700 miles or more, but there are exceptions that make the mode competitive with truck at shorter distances - down to roughly 450 miles.
- Distance from ramps - The other key consideration is how far the origin and destination are from the rail ramp. Ideally that distance is 50 miles or less, though the longer the long-haul portion of the trip, even a dray in the hundred mile range can work.
- Transit - Intermodal transit is typically truck plus one day when within one railroad's network, and plus two or three days when moving between two railroads. There are exceptions in which intermodal can be just about truck-equivalent as well.
If all those factors come out in your favor, there are still a few more to consider - like the value and weight of the load, available capacity, the need for visibility and appointment deliveries - that fully determine an intermodal fit.
For the purposes of this list of the best intermodal lanes, the other prong of the question is volume and service-level, and that prong is how we've come to the top intermodal lanes of 2024.
Top Intermodal Lanes List
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Los Angeles area to Chicago
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Chicago to Los Angeles area
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Los Angeles area to Dallas
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Dallas to Los Angeles area
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New York/New Jersey to Chicago
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Chicago to New York/New Jersey
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Los Angeles area to New York/New Jersey
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New York/New Jersey to Los Angeles area
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Atlanta to Los Angeles area
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Los Angeles area to Atlanta
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Chicago to Seattle
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Seattle to Chicago
The above lanes are constantly moving large capacity with consistent service schedules involving multiple class 1 railroads. You'll note that they also connect to a coastal port dealing with imports and exports for at least one end of the origin-destination pair. And as far as the inland piece goes, Chicago shows up an awful lot as an intermodal hub. And because of all the activity at each of these locations, drayage options are plentiful no matter which lane you choose.
How to add intermodal to a freight strategy
Combining the factors that make a good intermodal lane with the top intermodal routes listed here should offer general guidance as to business locations that would fit well with intermodal. But keep in mind, this is hardly an exhaustive list of lanes intermodal can cover.
If your company doesn't fit these origin-destination pairs, it still won't take much to find out whether your key lanes work for intermodal as well. After all, at InTek, we're here to help. Simply drop us your contact information, and we'll get back to you to run your scenario through our intermodal optimizer.
In the meantime, if you're still looking for more information on intermodal, or freight and logistics in general, check out our Freight Guides.
