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CN, CSX join on new Nashville intermodal service

Transborder service goes all-steel wheel to U.S. Mid-south

Stuart Chirls
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(Photo: CN)
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Key Takeaways:

  • Canadian National (CN) and CSX have partnered to create a new intermodal rail service from Canada's West Coast to Nashville, Tennessee, offering a faster and more sustainable alternative to trucking.
  • This collaboration will utilize existing interline agreements and leverage the increased volume of containers shifting to West Coast ports due to new US port fees.
  • The partnership is viewed as a strategic response to the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, highlighting the railroads' focus on collaboration rather than mergers.
  • This is CSX's second major interline agreement recently, demonstrating a broader industry trend towards cooperative ventures to enhance efficiency and service.
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Collaboration has been the active strategy of the other Class I railroads since Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) announced their proposed merger in July. 

Now, Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) said that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a new intermodal service into Nashville, Tennessee.

The cooperation will provide an all-rail alternative for international containers moving from Canada’s West Coast maritime gateways through Memphis directly into Nashville.

The companies said inland traffic will benefit from faster, more reliable, and more sustainable services as the trucking leg from Memphis is replaced by steel-wheel interchange.

“This agreement allows us to expand our reach, enabling our customers to efficiently access more markets. Collaboration like this benefits everyone; railroads, customers, and communities, by driving growth, reliability, optionality, and sustainability,” said Janet Drysdale, CN interim chief commercial officer, in a release.

The new service follows the companies’ existing interline agreements serving the ports of New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia on the U.S. East Coast since 2019. It also comes ahead of the October implementation of expensive U.S. port fees for China-linked container vessels, which has led ocean lines to shift some services away from U.S. hubs to the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert in British Columbia — the latter served exclusively by CN.

“At CSX, we’re committed to working with our interchange partners to create solutions that deliver mutual value and expand the options available to customers,” said Kevin Boone, executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “This new service with CN provides a faster and more sustainable all-rail option into Nashville, helping shippers strengthen their supply chains while reducing truck traffic on our highways.”

The agreement is the second major interline pact for CSX following the UP-NS news, and after the announcement that it would not pursue a merger with BNSF. Late last month, CSX said it was partnering with BNSF on coast-to-coast domestic and international intermodal service. 

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Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.