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Marketplace · Thursday, September 3, 2026

High Fuel Costs Drive Shift to Rail Shipping, Record Intermodal Volume

Persistent high fuel prices are prompting businesses to shift freight from trucks to rail, resulting in a record high volume of goods shipped via intermodal rail this year. While rail transport is generally slower, companies are willing to accept the longer transit times to save on costs.

personStephanie HughespersonSuzanne HollandpersonPhil EaverscompanyAAAcompanyAssociation of American RailroadscompanyRichmond Fed

The tape

4 quotes
What is new news though, is that these prices have been high long enough to change how businesses get things from point A to point B.
High fuel costs are encouraging some companies to ship by rail instead of by freight.
According to the Association of American Railroads, a trade group, the volume of goods shipped over intermodal rails so far this year has reached a record high.
I am willing to wait a little bit longer and save a lot of money by shipping by rail.
Suzanne Holland
Heard on Marketplace — “Chevron's big bet, published Thursday, September 3, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via Gemini audio transcription · $0.04
High Fuel Costs Drive Shift to Rail Shipping, Record Intermodal Volume — Heardvine