Rail & Intermodal
Rail & Intermodal Freight Shipping
Cost-effective long-haul moves across U.S. rail networks, with the drayage at both ends coordinated by the same team — so door-to-door stays seamless.
What intermodal shipping is — and when it wins
Intermodal shipping moves freight in a container or trailer across more than one mode — most commonly rail for the long haul, with trucks handling the first and last miles. On longer domestic lanes, rail intermodal is often meaningfully cheaper than over-the-road trucking, at the cost of a somewhat longer and less flexible transit.
Conveyco coordinates intermodal rail freight between major U.S. markets, including Inland Point Intermodal (IPI) moves that combine an ocean leg with rail to an inland ramp. For each lane we weigh transit time, cost, and reliability — and tell you plainly whether rail or truck is the better call for your shipment. Because we coordinate both modes, the recommendation isn't tied to one answer.
For shippers in Minnesota and the broader Upper Midwest, inland legs are long and unavoidable — which is exactly where a well-chosen rail move pays off. We're based in Burnsville, minutes from Minneapolis–St. Paul, and we run these lanes every week.
Common use cases
- Domestic intermodal moves between major U.S. markets
- Inland Point Intermodal (IPI) — combining ocean and rail
- Cross-country freight with cost sensitivity
- Lane optimization for repeat shipments
What we coordinate
- Rail booking with major U.S. carriers
- Origin and destination drayage
- Container or trailer routing
- Transit time and cost comparison across modes
- Tracking and milestone updates
Why shippers run intermodal through Conveyco
The weak point of any intermodal move is the handoff — the dray that meets the train. We coordinate the rail booking and the drayage at both ends as one plan, so the container doesn't sit at a ramp accruing charges while someone else's dispatcher catches up.
And because we also arrange ocean freight as a licensed NVOCC, an import can flow from vessel to rail to your door under one team's control, with tracking and milestone updates the whole way.
Related services
Weighing rail against truck?
Send us the lane and we'll model the tradeoff for your actual freight — cost, transit, and reliability, in plain terms.