Rubber or rail?
Let the lane
decide.

How intermodal works

Domestic intermodal is a three-leg move, booked and billed as one shipment:

• Origin drayage. A local truck delivers an empty 53-foot container to your dock, you load it like a dry van, and the drayage carrier takes it to the rail ramp.
• Rail linehaul. The container rides a train — often double-stacked — across the long middle of the trip.
• Destination drayage. At the destination ramp, another local truck picks up the container and delivers it to the receiver.

From the shipper's side, it looks a lot like truckload: one pickup, one delivery, one bill of lading. Our rail and intermodal service manages all three legs.

Side by side

	Rail intermodal	Truckload
Best distance	Long lanes — typically 700+ miles	Any distance; strongest on short and mid-length lanes
Cost	Usually lower per mile on long lanes	Higher per mile; less sensitive to distance
Transit	Typically a day or two slower than a team truck; ramps run on schedules	Fastest door to door, especially with team drivers
Flexibility	Tied to rail schedules and ramp cutoffs	Departs when the truck is loaded
Weight	Containers often take more weight than road-legal vans	Limited by road weight limits
Handling	More motion in transit — freight must be braced	Smoother ride; standard load securement
Fuel & emissions	Rail moves freight on a fraction of the fuel	Higher fuel per ton-mile

When intermodal wins

• The lane is long — cross-country and long regional lanes where rail economics take over.
• Both ends are near a ramp. Drayage is priced by distance; a long dray at either end can erase the savings.
• The delivery window can flex by a day or two.
• The freight is heavy and would otherwise run into road weight limits.
• You ship the lane regularly, so a steady intermodal program compounds the savings.
• You have sustainability targets — moving long-haul miles to rail is one of the largest single reductions in freight emissions a shipper can make.

When truckload wins

• Short lanes, where two drays plus rail cost more than a truck driving straight there.
• Time-critical freight, or anything with a hard delivery appointment and no slack. Our expedited service covers the truly urgent.
• Origins or destinations far from a ramp.
• Fragile freight that can't be braced well enough for rail movement.
• Temperature-controlled loads, where reefer truckload is usually the simpler option — see our equipment guide.

Loading for rail

Rail freight experiences more longitudinal motion than a truck — slack action as cars couple and the train starts and stops. Freight that would ride fine in a van can shift in a container. Load tight, fill voids, brace and block at the doors and between rows, and keep heavy freight low and centered. Good loading isn't just damage prevention; damage that traces to poor blocking is a hard claim to win.

Where LTL fits

Intermodal is a full-container service, so it competes with truckload, not with LTL. If you're shipping a few pallets, the comparison is LTL vs. volume vs. truckload; once you're filling a trailer on a long lane, intermodal belongs in the conversation.

How the Fox prices the choice

When a lane fits intermodal, we price it against over-the-road truckload so you can see the difference before you commit — and when it doesn't, we'll tell you and quote the truck. FoxIQ Price tracks carrier bids across the market, so the comparison reflects what capacity actually costs on your lane right now.

Quick answers

Is intermodal cheaper than truckload?

On long lanes, usually yes. Rail moves freight at a lower cost per mile, so the savings grow with distance. On short lanes, or where either end is far from a rail ramp, the cost of two drayage moves can make truckload cheaper.

How much slower is intermodal than truckload?

Intermodal typically adds a day or two compared with a team-driven truck, and rail ramps run on fixed schedules and cutoffs. It's a good fit when the delivery window can flex.

What distance makes intermodal worth it?

Intermodal generally makes the most sense on lanes of roughly 700 miles or more, with both origin and destination reasonably close to rail ramps.

Can LTL shipments move by intermodal?

Domestic intermodal is a full-container service, so it competes with truckload rather than LTL. Smaller shipments are better served by LTL or volume LTL.