Union Pacific announced it will launch a new, truck-competitive domestic intermodal service that will connect Los Angeles with Chicago.
The new route will use Southern California’s Inland Empire Intermodal Terminal (IEIT) to Chicago’s Global 2 Intermodal Terminal starting Sept. 3, officials said. The new route will provide customers with a service that is 20 percent faster than other industry offerings between the two terminals, the railroad said. The three-day transit service will start at five days a week and have the potential to grow as needed, officials said.
“As we continue expanding IEIT, this service will deliver consistent, reliable and truck-competitive transportation, challenging the norms of over-the-road shipping and competing head-to-head with team driver truck services,” Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific’s executive vice president for marketing and sales, said.
As part of its U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast, the American Trucking Association predicts intermodal rail tonnage will grow by 2.9 percent through 2030, and then 2.8 percent between 2031 and 2035. But ATA also predicts the overall share of freight tonnage moved by railroads will fall from 10.6 percent in 2024 to 9.9 percent in 2035 due to a fall in the amount of coal being transported.
In its U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast, the American Trucking Association expects intermodal rail tonnage will grow by 2.9% through 2030, and then 2.8% between 2031 and 2035. However, ATA forecasts the overall share of freight tonnage moved by railroads will fall from 10.6% in 2024 to 9.9% in 2035, mostly due to declines in coal volume.
Officials said the new offering is part of Union Pacific’s Z train network, providing the fastest delivery of time-sensitive freight. Union Pacific operates in 23 western states, connecting customers and communities to the rest of the globe. With more than 32,000 miles of track, Union Pacific Railroad is among the largest transportation companies in the world.
Recently, Union Pacific announced plans for an intercontinental railroad through a merger with Norfolk Southern Corporation last month. The $85 billion deal would connect more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast, linking some 100 ports across the country.