<img alt="" src="https://secure.perk0mean.com/182585.png" style="display:none;">
Request a Quote

red-accent

 

 

InTek Intermodal Index (III) Weekly Market Analysis

InTek Intermodal Index (III) Logo

 

Weekly market intelligence including the InTek Intermodal Index (tracking intermodal spot rates), along with truckload pricing, diesel trends, and railroad volumes

Updated every Thursday | Last updated: August 13, 2026

Get an intermodal quote

About-Hero-curve-1

This Week at a Glance

Week ending August 10, 2026

Chart Icon Round Arrow-1

Intermodal Spot Rate

(excluding fuel)

▲ +0.2% vs. last week

▲ +3.6% vs. last year

Truck Icon

Truckload Spot Rate

(excluding fuel, DAT)

▼ -0.8% vs. last week 

▲ +46.8% vs. last year

 

Diesel Icon Round

Diesel Fuel

(EIA National Average)

▼ -1.7% vs. last week 

▲ +40% vs. last year

 

 

Box Icon

Intermodal Volume

(YTD vs. 2025)

U.S. ▲ +3.6%

North American ▲ +2.9%

Train Truck Background Sketch-Light-Even

This Week's Analysis

By Rick LaGore, CEO, InTek Logistics | August 10, 2026

Analysis of the InTek Intermodal Index (III) and freight market trends

Trends in the Intermodal Transportation Spot Rate and Market

Intermodal spot firmed while truckload eased and diesel broke its climb, and the fuel line is again where the mode comparison moved most. Intermodal spot rose 0.2% for the week and holds 3.6% above last year. Truckload spot slipped 0.8% and sits 46.8% above last year. Diesel eased 9.1 cents to $5.257 after several weeks higher, though it remains 40% above last year.

The read for shippers is steady. The linehaul spread between the two modes stayed wide, the fuel spread stayed wider, and intermodal continued to hold share while total freight stayed soft. Instead of this week's numbers changing the underlying picture, they confirm it.

The demand read is unchanged and the cost read is where the movement sits. Intermodal rose 3.6% year over year. Truckload rose considerably more. That divergence is the cost gap, and it is the reason a modal comparison run today comes out differently than one run a year ago.

For shippers, the practical version is to price the spread on total landed cost with fuel in it, not on linehaul alone. With diesel 40% above last year and the fuel-efficiency difference between the modes fixed, the fuel component is now the largest single line separating the two on cost.

InTek Intermodal Index (excluding fuel):

  • Down 0.6% vs. prior week
  • Up 2.6% vs. prior year

The InTek Intermodal Index (III), which tracks intermodal spot rates, rose 0.2% and stands 3.6% above last year.

Weekly moves have been small and steady since late spring, which is the pattern this index tends to show. It firms in small increments rather than stepping, and it does not spike. The 3.6% year-over-year reading is the durable number, and it has held positive through the summer.

National Truckload Spot Rate (DAT, excluding fuel): (DAT Trendline Report)

  • Down 0.8% vs. prior week
  • Up 46.8% vs. prior year

Truckload spot eased 0.8% for the week and sits 46.8% above last year. The weekly move is small enough to read as drift rather than a turn.

The year-over-year figure is the one that matters for a shipper rerunning modal comparisons, and it measures how far the truckload cost base has moved off last year. That base is well above where intermodal spot rate has moved, which is what widens the cost gap on lanes where both modes compete.

Gas Pump Sketch Light

Diesel Fuel (EIA):

  • $5.257/gallon
  • Down $0.091 (1.7%) vs. prior week
  • Up $1.503 (40%) vs. prior year

On-highway diesel closed the week at $5.257 per gallon, down 9.1 cents (1.7%) from the prior week and up $1.503 (40%) from last year. The weekly step down is the first meaningful decline in several weeks, but it changes little in the annual picture.

A dollar and a half per gallon year over year moves the operating cost of every truck on the road, and it flows into freight cost regardless of how surcharges are built.

Fuel is where intermodal's cost advantage shows up most directly. Rail is roughly three times more fuel efficient than over-the-road truck on a ton-mile basis, so a higher diesel price widens the fuel component of the modal difference rather than affecting both modes equally.

(The full spreadsheet of the historical weekly price moves of diesel full can be found at https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel.)

 

Year-to-Date Intermodal Volume by Region and Railroad vs. 2025

North American intermodal volume runs 2.9% ahead of 2025 year to date, and the United States sits at 3.6%, ahead of the continental figure.

Growth by railroad is uneven. GMXT leads at 18.6%, well ahead of every other reporting carrier, though it runs off a smaller base and its readings swing further week to week. CSX at 5.8% and BNSF at 5.0% run above the US average, with NS at 4.4% close behind.

CN at -2.7%, UP at -1.0%, and CPKC at -0.7% remain below last year, with the two Canadian carriers working against tougher comparisons and UP grinding back toward break-even.

The distance between the strongest and weakest carriers is wider than the aggregate suggests. A shipper with freight concentrated on a single network is seeing something different from the national number, which is worth keeping in view when reading any headline volume figure.

North American Intermodal

2.9%

U.S. Intermodal

3.6%

Volume by Class 1 Railroad

BNSF 5%
CN -2.7%
CPKC -0.7%
CSX 5.8%
GMXT 18.6%
NS 4.4%
UP -1%

 

Dark-blue-curve-up

Intermodal Spot Rate Trend Charts

InTek Intermodal Index (III) spot rate per mile including fuel, showing weekly trends

Intermodal Spot Rate Per Mile (Including Fuel)

  

InTek Intermodal Index (III) spot rate per mile excluding fuel, showing weekly trends

Intermodal Spot Rate Per Mile (Excluding Fuel)

 

InTek Intermodal Index (III) average intermodal spot rate per mile from 2021 to 2026 Intermodal Spot Rate Average Per Mile (2014-2026)

InTek Intermodal Index (III) average intermodal percentage rate change per mile from 2021 to 2026

Intermodal Spot Rate Y/Y % Change (2014-2026)

medium-blue-curve-down-right

What to watch next week

Three things to watch heading into the week of August 10, 2026.

1-Icon

Will truckload continue its spot rate decline?

Truckload spot rates have fallen 2.5 times faster than is typically seen after the July 4th holiday. There is typically a decline after Independence Day, but not often to this level. Will it continue another week or will we see a reversal?

2-Icon

Where does diesel settle now that the climb has broken?

Diesel eased this week after several weeks higher. Watch the next EIA print for whether refining tightness is still the driver or relief is starting. Every week diesel holds near this level, third-quarter fuel-surcharge exposure on truckload gets heavier and the intermodal fuel advantage compounds.

3-Icon

What's on the horizon that has yet to manifest?

Refineries are running hard to cover US demand while others sit down globally, which leaves the system thin. Atlantic hurricane season runs through the fall, and a storm disrupting Gulf refining capacity would move diesel fast. Worth watching as a supply risk rather than a forecast.

Last week's scorecard

Last week we flagged three things. Here is how they played out.

  • Does truckload hold this level or head lower? Lower, modestly. Spot eased 0.8%, ending the flat stretch behind the question. The move is small enough to read as drift, and one week down settles nothing on its own.

  • Is the diesel run over or only paused? Paused for the moment. Diesel fell 9.1 cents to $5.257, the largest weekly decline in over a month. The climb has broken. Where the floor sits is the open question.

  • Does contract data close the repricing question? Not yet. No new contract read landed this week. June Cass truckload linehaul ran 5.5% above last year, the mid-single-digit figure the spot premium has been running against. Until the next contract print lands, the repricing read still rests on spot data alone.

About the InTek Intermodal Index:

The InTek Intermodal Index (III) tracks weekly domestic intermodal spot rates on a per-mile basis, both including and excluding fuel surcharges. Each week's report includes comprehensive market analysis covering truckload pricing trends, diesel fuel costs, and Class I railroad intermodal volumes to provide context for rate movements.

Published every Thursday since 2014, the Index serves as a resource for shippers, carriers, and industry analysts tracking North American freight market trends.

Citation: InTek Intermodal Index. (2026). Weekly Intermodal Spot Rate Report. Retrieved from https://www.inteklogistics.com/spot-rates

Divider

 

Want custom pricing for your lanes?

Get a tailored intermodal quote based on your specific shipping needs and freight profile.