Schneider shifts eastern intermodal freight to Norfolk Southern

Schneider unveiled a deal making Norfolk Southern its primary eastern rail provider Oct. 29, demonstrating the size of the carrier’s intermodal ambitions. Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider — which ranks No. 4 among intermodal and drayage players and No. 10 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America — foresees an expansion in key markets in the intermodal segment of the freight market when the deal takes effect Jan 1. The company also reckons to be the first intermodal player to offer a single-line transcontinental network through the deal, especially if Norfolk Southern’s controversial merger with Union Pacific gets the green light. Union Pacific is Schneider’s primary western rail provider. “As we were comparing all of the freight available to the options that we had, it became obvious to us that we had a better opportunity in our competitive positioning to put ourselves on Norfolk Southern,” Schneider CEO Jim Filter told investors and analysts during the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call. “While we announced it today, those teams have been putting the work together for a long time. We have a proven playbook. We have done this before, so has Norfolk Southern,” he said, adding: “They have also been making some investments in facilities, getting things set up for us. There has been some track adjustments as well, making sure that we have the lift capacity.” Image “This opens up a big chunk of the country, so we are really excited about that," Schneider CEO Jim Filter said of the deal with Norfolk Southern.…

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