"While aggregate intermodal volume weakened by 2%. year-over-year for Q4 2025, the domestic market actually decoupled from this trend, showing 2.2 % growth,” said Intermodal Association...

The market is being affected by end-of-year port performance and evolving warehouse trends driven by new inventory strategies, said ITS Logistics.

The common sentiment around the industry is that carriers who have weathered the rock-bottom rates of the past three years will be rewarded with a recovery in 2026.

"These past few weeks have done more to swing the pendulum of pricing from shippers back toward fleets than anything we’ve seen in a few years," said ACT Research.