July 15, 2026
Intermodal rail update
Highlights from this week’s rail update: CSX reports temporary maintenance causing about four hours of delay on select Charlotte shipments while expanding Mexico equipment flows. Union Pacific is upgrading Tacoma-Chicago service, cutting transit by about 38 hours. CPKC plans a new Mexico-CSX service that bypasses Chicago congestion.
Schneider's strategic rail partners
CSX updates
- Temporary track maintenance is adding approximately four hours of transit time for select Charlotte-bound shipments.
- Freight originating in Los Angeles, Lathrop, and Miami may be impacted through July 27.
- CSX and Schneider are collaborating on expanded empty repositioning opportunities on CSX-CPKC corridors into Mexico.
- Additional equipment flows will help support growing northbound demand and maintain equipment availability in key Mexican markets.
Union Pacific updates
- Announced changes to outbound Seattle/Tacoma schedules effective July 17.
- Union Pacific Tacoma (TACSIM) to Chicago (Global 2) service will be upgraded to premium Z-service.
- While rail cutoff times will move up two hours (3:00 PM to 1:00 PM), customers will benefit from an approximately 38-hour transit improvement.
- Union Pacific Seattle service to St. Louis (Dupo), Kansas City (KCIT), Memphis (Marion), and the Twin Cities (TCIT) will increase from five to seven weekly departures.
- Union Pacific operated two additional I-5 corridor trains last weekend to support increased demand into the Seattle and Portland markets.
- The railroad continues to closely monitor outbound Southern California volumes and expects to add additional Chicago train starts in the coming weeks to maintain terminal fluidity.
- Despite record volumes, the Union Pacific network remains highly fluid with minimal service disruptions.
CPKC updates
- CPKC plans to launch Mexico-to-CSX South Kearny service via the southeast corridor within the next month.
- Traffic will have a steel wheel interchange in Myrtlewood, MS, avoiding potential Chicago bottlenecks and eliminating the need for a rubber tire transfer between CPKC and CSX.
- CPKC has partnered with SENASICA to provide customs inspection services at the Puerta México (Toluca) terminal near Mexico City.
- This enhancement allows qualifying commodities to remain on the train through the border crossing, with inspections completed upon arrival in Toluca.
- The program also creates new intermodal opportunities for commodities that historically required border inspections, including cotton, DDGs, soybean meal, peat moss and pet food.