Truckload• Intermodal Transportation• Logistics & Supply Chain• Freight Broker• Logistics Service Provider• Freight Forwarder
The single biggest factor influencing whether you get a great intermodal rate or a mediocre one is something most shippers never think about: where the containers need to go next. This is the network balance equation. And if you understand it, you can use it to your advantage in ways that most shippers never realize.
In this article we'll explore what network balance is, why it's such a heavy influence on intermodal pricing, offer up examples of surplus and deficit markets and take you through how to use this knowledge as a market advantage for your business - whether you're a shipper or provider.
What Network Balance Actually Means
Intermodal network balance comes down to the relationship between container usage and availability. Every intermodal container that delivers to a destination has to go somewhere after it’s unloaded. It either gets reloaded with outbound freight in that market or sits empty until someone moves it, at a cost, to a market where it can be loaded.
When a market generates more inbound containers than outbound containers, it's a surplus market. That means unused containers and equipment once the initial deliveries are made. The railroad or equipment provider absorbs repositioning cost to move those empty boxes somewhere useful.
On the flipside, a deficit market occurs in a location that generates more outbound containers than inbound. Shippers in that market are competing for a limited supply of available equipment. Containers have to be repositioned in, which adds cost to the system before a single load is moved.
This imbalance exists at every level of the intermodal network. It exists nationally, where West Coast import volumes create surpluses at inland destinations and deficits at origin markets. It exists regionally, where manufacturing hubs generate outbound freight but receive relatively little inbound. And it exists locally, where a single facility’s shipping pattern can tip the balance in its immediate area.
The key insight for shippers is this: when you ship freight into a surplus market or out of a deficit market, you are swimming against the current- and paying a higher price. When you ship freight that helps the network rebalance, you are swimming with it - and that means savings.
Surplus and Deficit Markets in Practice
Here are a few real-world examples of surplus and deficit intermodal markets - some of which can be a little of both depending on seasonality and economic factors.
Southern California is one of the most consistently surplus domestic container markets in the country. Enormous volumes of import freight flow through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and get distributed inland by rail. Those containers deliver to warehouses and distribution centers across the Inland Empire and greater L.A. But the outbound manufacturing base in Southern California has declined significantly over the past two decades. The result is a persistent surplus of empty containers that need to move back east or north.
For shippers with freight originating in Southern California and moving to the Midwest or Southeast, this surplus is an advantage. Equipment is readily available. Pricing tends to be favorable because the railroad would rather move a loaded container than reposition an empty one.
Oregon and the Pacific Northwest present a different dynamic. Historically, strong agricultural and forest products exports create outbound demand, but inbound domestic intermodal volumes can be inconsistent. When inbound volumes drop, equipment supply in the region tightens. Shippers trying to ship out of Portland or the Willamette Valley may find equipment harder to source and pricing less favorable than they expected.
Denver is another market where balance shifts significantly. At times, strong inbound retail and consumer goods create a container surplus that makes outbound pricing attractive. During other periods, though, the market tightens and shippers face equipment constraints. The dynamic changes with seasonal flows and import patterns.
Sioux Falls, central Iowa, and other Midwest agricultural markets often sit in chronic deficit positions for domestic intermodal equipment. These markets generate strong outbound freight (food products, agricultural goods, manufactured items) but receive relatively less inbound containerized freight. Shippers in these areas frequently face higher rates and tighter equipment availability because the railroad must reposition containers in to serve them.
The common thread is that network balance is not static. It changes with trade flows, import patterns, seasonal demand, and the routing decisions of railroads and ocean carriers. A market that was balanced six months ago can be in deficit today because of a shift in port volumes or a change in import routing.
Why This Matters for Your Pricing
Intermodal providers, whether railroads, IMCs, or asset-based carriers, all manage container fleets. Those fleets need to be where the freight is. When the fleet naturally balances because inbound and outbound volumes in a market are roughly equal, the system runs efficiently and pricing is competitive.
When the fleet is out of balance, someone pays. Either the railroad absorbs the repositioning cost and spreads it across the network, or the shipper in the deficit market pays a premium to justify the empty move that brings equipment to their door.
This is why two shippers with identical lane distances, identical freight characteristics, and identical volumes can receive very different intermodal rates. The shipper in the surplus market gets the benefit of available equipment and lower repositioning cost. The shipper in the deficit market pays more because the system has to work harder to serve them.
Most shippers never see this dynamic in their pricing. They see a rate. They compare it to truckload. They accept or reject. But behind that rate is a network calculation that the IMC and the railroad have already made about whether serving that lane helps or hurts their equipment balance.
How Smart Shippers Use Network Balance to Their Advantage
Once shippers understand network balance, it's possible to start making decisions that work with the system rather than against it.
Bundle inbound and outbound freight when bidding. If you have freight moving into a market and freight moving out of the same market, package those lanes together. An IMC or railroad that can see balanced volume on both sides of a market will price more aggressively than one that sees only the outbound.
We see this regularly. A shipper comes to us with a set of outbound lanes from a deficit market. The rates aren’t great because the equipment has to be repositioned in. Then we learn the same shipper also has inbound lanes to that market from other origins. By combining both sets of lanes in a single program, we improve the network balance for our rail partner, and that improvement flows through to better pricing for the shipper on both sets of lanes.
Ask your IMC where they need freight. This is a conversation that almost never happens, but it should. Your IMC knows which markets have surplus equipment and which markets are short. If you have flexibility in how you route freight, or if you’re adding lanes in an upcoming bid, ask where the network needs volume. You may find that a lane you hadn’t considered becomes the most attractively priced option in your portfolio.
Time your bids to align with known flow patterns. Import patterns create predictable equipment surpluses at certain times of year. Post-peak season, when import volumes slow, inland markets that were well-supplied with international containers can see equipment dry up as ocean carriers pull boxes back to port. If you’re bidding for annual intermodal programs, understanding the seasonal flow in your markets helps you set realistic expectations for rate and equipment availability.
Explore repositioning container programs. When ocean carriers import containers to the U.S., those containers eventually need to return to port. Rather than being repositioned empty, some of those containers are made available through repositioning programs for domestic shippers to use at favorable rates. The catch is that the container has to move toward a port or depot where the ocean carrier wants it. If your freight happens to flow in that direction, the savings can be substantial.
At InTek, we actively manage a repositioning intermodal program that matches shippers with containers that need to move back toward port. For shippers with the right origin-destination patterns, this creates a pricing advantage that conventional domestic intermodal can’t match.
What Your IMC Should Be Doing
A good IMC should be doing several things with network balance in mind. Taking these actions will benefit everyone involved in the intermodal shipment including them, the railroads, drayage providers and, of course, shippers.
Identifying deficit and surplus markets proactively. Your IMC should know which markets are chronically short on equipment and which markets have excess. They should be sharing that information with you, not waiting for you to ask.
Targeting your bid lanes strategically. When you’re preparing an RFP, your IMC should be helping you identify lanes where intermodal is not just competitive but structurally advantaged because of network balance. This isn’t about selling you more lanes. It’s about selling you the right lanes.
Working with rail partners on equipment positioning. IMCs that have strong railroad relationships can influence how equipment gets positioned. When an IMC brings a package of lanes that balances a deficit market, the railroad is more willing to support that business with competitive pricing and reliable equipment supply.
Communicating when balance shifts. Your IMC should be monitoring changes in the market - including shifting import patterns, distribution center openings (and closings), and general economic pressures - and communicating when they affect your lanes, your pricing, or your equipment availability.
Not all IMCs think about network balance. Many operate lane by lane, quoting each request independently without considering how the full portfolio fits together. That is a missed opportunity for both the IMC and the shipper.
The Bid Package Design Principle
Here is a practical framework for how to think about network balance when designing an intermodal bid package.
Start by mapping your lanes geographically. Where does your freight originate? Where does it deliver? Are there markets where you have both inbound and outbound volume?
Then ask your IMC to overlay the equipment balance picture. Which of your origin markets are well-supplied with containers? Which ones are chronically short? Which of your destination markets generate equipment surplus after delivery?
Now design the bid package to maximize balance. Group lanes that offset each other. That means if you have five outbound lanes from a deficit market and three inbound lanes to that same market, bid them as a package. The combined picture is far more attractive to a rail partner than eight individual lane quotes.
Finally, prioritize the lanes where balance gives you a structural advantage. If you have freight moving out of a surplus market into a deficit market, that lane will almost always price well because it helps the railroad rebalance. Those are the lanes to anchor your intermodal program around.
The lanes where you’re fighting the balance, shipping out of deficit markets into surplus ones, may still work on intermodal (and still often at a lower price than over the road). But they require more creative structuring, and your expectations on pricing should reflect the repositioning cost embedded in the rate.
How InTek designs intermodal
At InTek, network balance is central to how we design intermodal programs. Instead of just quoting lanes, we design portfolios. That means understanding the full picture of a shipper’s freight flows, identifying where balance exists and where it doesn’t, and structuring the program to maximize the network advantage.
We actively work with our railroad partners to identify deficit markets where they need volume. When we bring a shipper whose freight helps fill that need, the pricing reflects it. When a shipper’s freight works against the balance, we are transparent about why the rate looks the way it does and whether alternative routing or timing could improve the economics.
We also monitor balance continuously. Import patterns, port volumes, ocean carrier repositioning decisions, seasonal manufacturing cycles, all of these affect equipment supply in specific markets. When something shifts, we communicate that to our customers before it becomes a problem.
Network balance is not a concept you need to master. But it is a concept you need to be aware of. Because the intermodal rate you receive is never just about your freight. It is about how your freight fits into a system that is constantly trying to get containers where they need to be.
The shippers who understand that, even at a basic level, consistently get better pricing, better equipment availability, and better program performance than those who don’t.
If you have been thinking about adding intermodal to your network but haven’t pulled the trigger, there may not be a better setup than what exists today.
The current freight environment offers favorable conditions to test and implement intermodal. Rates are stable, equipment is available, and building intermodal capability now positions your network before capacity tightens.
Request a lane analysis and our team will evaluate your long-haul freight, identify intermodal opportunities, and provide specific recommendations for your network.
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