Norfolk Southern sees intermodal volume jump 13.7% as it shifts focus to ease of use
Norfolk Southern reported a 13.7% year-over-year increase in intermodal volume for the past week, indicating the railroad is shifting focus from price competition to making rail freight easier to buy, plan, monitor, and use. Speaking at the Intermodal Association of North America’s annual conference in Long Beach, vice president Shawn Tureman, who has 23 years at the railroad, said the industry’s central challenge has moved from competing on cost to removing friction in the customer experience.
Norfolk Southern divides its intermodal history into three eras: building the network, competing for the customer, and now removing friction that constrains rail’s ability to win freight from trucks. The first era involved constructing terminals, double‑stack routes, port connections, and corridors that gave the railroad the most extensive East Coast intermodal network. The second era focused on competing for customers but left shippers to adapt operations to the railroad rather than receiving a service designed around their needs. The current phase aims to make rail freight simple, reliable, and visible so shippers choose it consistently over truck moves.
“Cost alone does not shift a supply chain,” said Tureman.“Customers need confidence,” Shawn Tureman, vice president of Automotive & Intermodal Marketing said.
Following railroad consolidation in the late 1990s, Class I railroads invested extensively in intermodal terminals, double-stack routes, port connections, and long-haul freight corridors. Those investments created the backbone of the U.S. intermodal system and established rail as a viable long-distance alternative to highway transportation.
What we know
Norfolk Southern’s intermodal volume rose 13.7% year-over-year this past week.
Shawn Tureman has 23 years at Norfolk Southern.
Shawn Tureman spoke at the Intermodal Association of North America’s annual conference in Long Beach.
Norfolk Southern’s intermodal business can be divided into three distinct periods: building the network, competing for the customer, and removing friction.
Norfolk Southern’s intermodal business is entering a new phase where success depends less on matching trucking on cost and more on making rail freight easier to buy, plan, monitor and use.