Union Pacific's $1.52bn quarter leads intermodal revenue surge across big four

Union Pacific booked $1.52bn in intermodal revenue over the three months to October, a 27% year-on-year jump that outpaced every major North American railroad as tighter trucking capacity pushed freight onto the rails.

Volumes rose 11% to 956,000 carloads, and UP was explicit about the driver: shrinking truck capacity. EVP marketing and sales Kenny Rocker said: "Domestic delivered its fifth consecutive record quarter in volume and revenue. Our foundation of service, combined with strong business development and deployment of buffer resources enabled volume growth."

He also flagged international intermodal volumes up 8% on west coast import traffic and business wins, while automotive business wins offset continued market softness — with strength in auto parts driven by growth among existing OEM customers.

EVP operations Eric Gehringer said the railroad's intermodal service performance index finished the quarter at 92% despite the 11% volume increase, achieved by "unstacking containers and utilising our buffer of resources" as the freight market improved.

How did the rest of the big four perform?

CSX recorded intermodal revenue of $634m, up 20% year on year, on volumes up 7% to 820,000 units. The carrier credited new customer wins, new service offerings and the tighter trucking market.

Chief commercial officer Maryclare Kenney said: "Conversions from the highway remain strong, and the new service offerings through Birmingham, Myrtlewood, Baltimore, and other areas are performing well and attracting new business."

International volumes were relatively flat, she noted, but the completion of full double-stack clearances through the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore offers another route to attracting traffic. She told investors: "We're very optimistic about the opportunities as we close this year and go into next on the domestic intermodal side," adding that trucking tightness could prove a boost when yields come up for renewal — a caveat-wrapped promise, but one investors heard willingly.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City posted intermodal revenue of $583m, up 22%, on volumes up 9% to 489,800 carloads. Pricing did much of the work: revenue per carload climbed 12% year on year to $1,190.

Canadian National was the outlier. Box volumes fell 6% to 542,000 teu even as revenue rose 9% to $765m. CN blamed declining international shipments through Halifax and Prince Rupert, with the upturn in Vancouver traffic too small to offset the losses. Higher yield carried the quarter instead — revenue per RTM rose 12% over 2025 to a little over $6 — denying the industry a clean sweep of growth on both lines.

What does CPKC's filing mean for the UP-NS merger?

Away from the earnings, CPKC made its boldest attempt yet to derail Union Pacific's proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern. In a 30 October submission to the US Surface Transportation Board, the carrier urged the regulator to terminate its review, alleging UP's campaign for approval "had intimidated shippers and compromised the integrity of the proceeding" — an intervention described by Premium as "extraordinary".

CPKC reframed the debate. The question, it argued, is not whether a coast-to-coast network would raise rates or eliminate competitive routes, but "whether the STB can reach a trustworthy decision if the people who depend on the applicants for rail service are reluctant to testify against them". The filing also hands thousands more stakeholders a seat at the STB's table, stretching the proceeding further.

What happens next?

For shippers, the quarter's arithmetic is unambiguous: three of the four big railroads converted a tightening trucking market into double-digit revenue growth, and CSX expects the yield benefit to deepen at renewal. Whether UP can hold a 92% service index while absorbing merger scrutiny — and whether the STB survives CPKC's challenge to the proceeding's integrity — will shape intermodal pricing into next year.