Today & what's next

Intermodal volume in 2026 points in two directions at once. In the latest reported week, U.S. railroads moved 292,743 intermodal units, up 11.5% over the same week a year earlier[1]. But that headline flatters a soft late-2025 base — intermodal had fallen 3.4% in December 2025, a fourth straight monthly decline[2]. The truer signal is the year-to-date figure: 5,555,553 units across the first 20 weeks of 2026, up just 1.4%[3]. Across North America the latest week reached 381,548 units, up 10.3% year over year[4].

The structural story is the network itself. After completing its purchase of Kansas City Southern, Canadian Pacific won approval to combine into CPKC and became the first railroad offering single-line service across Canada, the United States, and Mexico[5]. As nearshoring shifts manufacturing toward Mexico, that tri-national spine has become the rail network best positioned to carry the resulting cross-border freight, with industry estimates pointing to strong double-digit growth on the corridor.

A second, much larger shake-up is only a proposal so far. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have proposed a merger that would create the first true coast-to-coast U.S. railroad, and the Surface Transportation Board accepted the revised application on May 28, 2026[6]. It is not approved: the deal remains under review, so six Class I railroads still operate today[7]. If it clears, the map of North American rail would be redrawn around two transcontinental giants.