LOS CABOS, BCS – Intermodal transportation in Mexico is experiencing “the best moment in its history.” This was the assertion of Luis Hernández, president of the Mexican Intermodal Transportation Association (AMTI) , at the inauguration of the XXVII Intermodal Congress , where he outlined a landscape of expansion for the industry, marked by record figures , new cargo dynamics, and a growing participation of the sector in the country’s economic and logistical agenda.

Far from presenting a discourse focused solely on statistics, Hernández opted for a narrative that sought to define the current state of Mexican intermodal transport as a result of years of investment, coordination, and integration among operators, terminals, railways, and freight users.

“Today, intermodal transport in Mexico is not only growing, it is experiencing the best moment in its history, and this is not just a figure of speech. The real data tells us this ,” he stated to industry representatives.

The leader explained that during the first quarter of 2026, the intermodal system moved more than 333,000 loaded containers , a figure that represented a 10% annual growth and the best start for the sector in at least seven years. However, he emphasized that the main change lies not only in the volume, but also in the diversification of growth.

“For the first time, success is not in a single sector. Growth was widespread . The cross-border, domestic, and maritime markets all grew together simultaneously, as a single sector,” he stated.

Within that performance, Hernández particularly highlighted the dynamism of the cross-border segment , which registered a growth of 15% and reached a historic record driven by the increase in rail imports from the United States, especially non-automotive cargo.

“We are finally moving away from our dependence on automotive freight as an intermodal industry. We are transforming into a general freight industry,” he said.

According to the president of AMTI, this transition represents one of the most relevant structural changes for the industry in recent decades, because it strengthens the integration of intermodal transport with the consumer, manufacturing and food sectors , expanding the range of goods that use rail and containers as a logistics axis.

This transformation is also reflected in the domestic market, historically considered one of the most complex segments for Mexican intermodal transport . Hernández acknowledged that for years the operating balance of domestic services was negative, although he asserted that signs of maturity are now beginning to appear in key corridors.

“April reflected a 99% balance. In the 17 years I’ve been monitoring this, we’ve never seen a 99% balance. That is, for every load we add, we lose one load,” he commented.

He added that the growth of the domestic market is also being driven by greater confidence among Mexican companies in rail and intermodal services for the movement of consumer goods.

“We went from moving eight thousand containers in 2019 to more than 21 thousand in the first quarter. That’s a growth of more than 150 percent . It’s proof that rail and intermodal transport are now part of the daily life of Mexican companies,” he said.

At the same time, maritime corridors maintained a positive trend, exceeding 210,000 units moved between the country’s four main seaports, with a growth of 7%, in a context where port-rail connectivity is beginning to consolidate as a strategic component for national logistics competitiveness.

However, Hernández insisted that behind the figures there is a network of investments, infrastructure and human capital that has allowed the sector’s growth to be sustained.

“More has been invested in terminals and intermodal corridors in the last 24 months than in the last 10 years,” he said.

In that regard, he acknowledged the work of railway operators, terminal staff and workers in the sector who, he said, keep “the country awake and connected” , while stressing that intermodal transport has ceased to be merely a logistical alternative and has become “the economic engine of the country”.

The president of AMTI also highlighted the strengthening of institutional dialogue between industry and the federal government, particularly on issues related to competitiveness, foreign trade, infrastructure and railway safety .

“We have brought this pride and this technical strength to the most important dialogue tables with the government, with the Ministry of Economy and with Customs ,” he commented.

Within those conversations, he highlighted the participation of the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) in promoting corridors for refrigerated cargo, especially from projects led by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) to move refrigerated imports by rail.

Hernández also revived the debate surrounding nearshoring – which he preferred to call “nearsource” – and asserted that Mexico is going through a historic juncture resulting from the global reconfiguration of supply chains.

“Now we are truly living the Mexican moment ,” he affirmed. “Geography is on our side, the free trade agreement (USMCA) is here to stay, and we need to understand how we will operate within this new free trade agreement.”

From that perspective, the leader called on the industry to maintain unity and accelerate efforts to build a more efficient, sustainable and secure logistics network , capable of responding to the new demands of foreign trade.

“The real challenge I propose to you today is not to surpass a certain figure next quarter; the challenge is for us to continue walking together, to continue believing in innovation, in leaving a more sustainable world for those who come after us,” he concluded.

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In a context of commercial uncertainty and changes in supply chains, Magdalena Pongratz, inbound planning specialist at Volkswagen de México , highlighted that interchangeable processes in the logistics environment should not be understood solely as operations, but as “the spark for growth and competitive advancement . “

During his presentation entitled “Adding Value Through Collaboration and Cross-Border Logistics ,” at the Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain conference, Pongratz emphasized the role of North America as an integrated region, where the United States, Canada, and Mexico form a logistics bloc with deeply intertwined supply chains .

This cross-border dynamic, he noted, demands a strategic vision that allows us to face the challenges of costs and efficiency , which guarantees the resilience of operations in a highly competitive market.

One of the key points of his presentation was the complexity of transit processes, which generate a significant disparity in costs . Although the volume of supplies from the United States represents only 5% of Volkswagen de México’s total, this same flow accounts for 29% of logistics costs. This difference explains the company’s priority in optimizing flows and reducing expenses associated with the movement of goods.

To try to solve these problems, Pongratz pointed out, the company launched strategies such as the NAR Inbound Tender project , launched in 2024 together with Audi Mexico and Volkswagen Group of America , which seeks to update the inbound network to “attack exactly these inbound costs and to update our entire inbound network in the multidimensional region.”

The specialist also explained that Volkswagen’s logistics departments are constantly working on optimizing transport frequencies , with the main objective of consolidating volumes.

“With this, we can reduce the frequency and increase our productivity. And we see the great benefit of improving our capitalization, lowering our transportation costs, having a better pattern, and ultimately, a simplified scale,” he noted.

Finally, Pongratz announced a pilot intermodal transport plan, in which a supplier in the northern United States will supply the Puebla plant, with the goal of validating the viability of intermodal transport as a cost-optimizing alternative . The initiative seeks to add more suppliers in the future and incorporate more intermodal transport projects.

“And why are we doing this? Ultimately, we need and want our supply chain to be as resilient and effective as possible to support automotive production in Mexico,” he concluded.

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“Mexico has a cargo imbalance in some markets; it exports more than it imports from the United States, and that impacts us with cross-border tariffs . Depending on the routes, we need to know if we’re going to be cheap, if we’re going to help with empty return flights, or where we’re going to jump in line if it’s oversold,” said Luis Felipe González, Vice President of Customer Solutions for EASO and Hub Group .

During his participation in Container Week , organized by the Mexican Association of Intermodal Transport (AMTI) , he added that the reduction in capacity of B1 operators, the insecurity in some corridors in Mexico, among other factors, also impact intermodal transport.

Regarding the high level of capacity for land transport in the United States, he explained that this situation leads to low intermodal rates , while “the rhetoric of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, changes every day and affects us.”

At the event, he indicated that the shortage of road transport for certain markets, such as in the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, gave rise to a phenomenon in the arrival of automobiles of Chinese origin, since they were moved through containers .

He also pointed out that fuel and other ancillary costs are included in the fares for this mode of transport. However, he mentioned that compared to trucking, they offer stable annual fares, more consistent transit times, and more cost-effective door-to-door service.

He reported that, according to AMTI data, for the first half of this year, cross-border intermodal grew 17%, while domestic intermodal grew 7%, and maritime intermodal registered a drop of 8%.

“Domestic freight has grown strongly in recent years. It slowed down in 2021, but in 2022, 2023, and 2024, while the total volume of cargo may still be low, it remains one of the fastest-growing segments in terms of percentage. We’ve struggled quite a bit to recover volumes in cross-border freight due to the dynamics of the relationship with the United States. As for maritime intermodal freight, the pandemic and the Long Beach port closure had a positive effect, causing many cargo flows from China to North America to shift to Lázaro Cárdenas and Manzanillo,” he emphasized.

Luis Felipe González predicts a good end to the year for this mode of transport .

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Schneider National reported that, together with the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railway , it has managed to reduce transit time on the Mexico-Chicago route by 12% , which translates to up to three days faster compared to the industry average of seven days.

This has made it the only carrier operating a single-track cross-border intermodal solution.

“Our cross-border goal is not just to move goods, but to move them smarter, faster, and safer. Reducing shipping times by even a few days is important to our customers because the faster products get to the shelves, the faster those items can get into the hands of consumers,” said Michael Baumgardt, senior vice president of Intermodal at Schneider.

He emphasized that the company maintains the lowest rates of cross-border rail incidents and thefts in the industry. It also boasts a 99.98% cross-border security rating across the CPKC bridge in Laredo.

It also features company-owned containers and chassis in Mexico , backed by in-country operations, combined with priority access to key infrastructure partners like CPKC, ensuring capacity and flexibility for those seeking intermodal service, and has dedicated bilingual support teams to streamline every stage of the shipping process.

He noted that, according to the Mexican Intermodal Transport Association (AMTI) , Mexico’s total cross-border intermodal market grew 17% in 2024 , while Schneider’s intermodal volume grew at twice that rate, driven by expanding truckload conversion as customers look for providers that can offer the speed and consistency of truckload service with the benefits of intermodal.

Similarly, CPKC has made significant investments in expanding its cross-border infrastructure, including the completion of a second rail bridge over the Rio Grande at its border crossing in Laredo, Texas, in 2024.

“Our strategic collaboration with Schneider has brought new transportation solutions to CPKC’s network. We are excited about the success we’ve seen and the new opportunities we are creating together, especially with our flagship intermodal service from the Midwest and now the Southeast to Mexico,” said Jonathan Wahba, senior vice president of CPKC Bulk and Intermodal.

Michael Baumgardt said intermodal, now Schneider’s fastest-growing segment , serves a variety of industries, including automotive, appliances, food, agricultural products, electronics and tires.

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