Todd Maiden
5 min read
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Intermodal carriers sounded a little more upbeat than they were just a few weeks ago at an investor conference held in Chicago on Tuesday.
Management from Schneider National (NYSE: SNDR) said its “feeling a bit more optimistic” than it was on its first-quarter call held on May 1. The multimodal provider said at the 2025 Wells Fargo Industrials & Materials Conference on Tuesday that the worst-case scenarios previously contemplated at the onset of the trade war now appear unlikely.
Schneider’s President and CEO Mark Rourke pointed to a return to seasonal demand from some customers but classified trends as still “not completely normal.” He said volume weakness on the West Coast (as imports from China remain in flux) is being offset by strength on intermodal lanes out of Mexico and in the Midwest.
He believes an inventory pull-forward before the conclusion of the 90-day tariff pause between the U.S. And China is likely. Some of Schneider’s customers are expecting “a tsunami” of freight while others are calling for steady shipment flows.
The company said demand for its single-line intermodal service from Mexico to Chicago on the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP) line will allow it to outgrow the rest of the industry. It expects new business wins along that lane and throughout the rest of its network to offset any tariff-induced air pocket in demand.
Schneider’s intermodal contact pricing has largely been flat to up slightly so far this bid season, and it is having constructive conversations with customers who are showing more interest in the mode as they expect the truckload market to eventually tighten.
Management from J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT) said the headlines have been exaggerated and that intermodal demand has been relatively stable. It is looking for “an ok peak [season]” blended with “a little bit of optimism on the supply side.”
“Generally, business has been way more stable than what I think concern has been from the market,” said Brad Delco, senior vice president of finance at J.B. Hunt, at the event.
J.B. Hunt, too, said that intermodal bid season is producing flat to slightly higher pricing, noting strength on head haul lanes.
Schneider’s intermodal revenue per load was 1% higher year over year in the first quarter (excluding fuel surcharges) while J.B. Hunt recorded a 1% decline.
J.B. Hunt saw 13% volume growth in the East, which has a shorter length of haul and negatively impacted the yield metric, during the period. It remains encouraged by recent growth trends in the business given the absence of the normal demand catalysts for modal conversion like fuel cost pressures and rising TL rates.
