Shipper Resources

An Intermodal Marketing Company (IMC) holds direct contracts with Class I railroads — giving us access to railroad-direct rates, equipment, and capacity. A freight broker acts as a middleman, marking up rates they get from carriers or other IMCs. LaserNet Jax is one of only 15 IMCs in the US with direct contracts across every Class I railroad, which means you're getting the best available intermodal rate — not a marked-up version of it.

Intermodal works best on lanes 750 miles or longer. Below that distance, the drayage costs at each end eat into the savings. The longer the lane, the bigger the advantage. Transcontinental lanes (1,500+ miles) typically see the greatest savings — often 25–30% versus OTR. We'll tell you honestly if your lane qualifies.

Drayage is the short-haul trucking that connects your origin to the rail ramp, and the destination ramp to your final delivery point. It's the "first mile and last mile" of an intermodal move. LaserNet Jax coordinates both the origin and destination drayage — we have carrier relationships at every major rail ramp in the country, built over 18+ years. You don't have to find or manage drayage carriers yourself.

Intermodal typically runs 1–2 days longer than OTR on the same lane, factoring in drayage at both ends and rail transit. For most planned freight — inventory replenishment, manufactured goods, retail distribution — that window is completely acceptable. For just-in-time or mission-critical freight, OTR may be the better choice, and we'll tell you that honestly.

This is a special railroad program that moves 40' and 45' containers from East Coast origins to West Coast ramps — Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver BC — at deeply discounted rates. The railroads need to reposition equipment westbound, so they offer exceptional pricing to shippers willing to move freight in that direction. Most shippers have never heard of this program. LaserNet Jax participates directly, and those savings go straight to you.

Any dry van freight that fits in a 40', 45', or 53' container is a candidate — palletized goods, boxed products, manufactured parts, automotive components, agricultural commodities, consumer goods, and retail distribution freight. Intermodal is not suitable for oversized freight, hazardous materials requiring special handling, refrigerated cargo (without specialized equipment), or freight needing flatbed trailers.

A rail ramp (also called an intermodal terminal) is the facility where containers are loaded onto and off of trains. Ramp selection significantly impacts both cost and transit time. Most providers default to the nearest or most obvious ramp. At LaserNet Jax, we analyze ramp options on every shipment — sometimes routing through a slightly different ramp saves meaningful money or shaves a day off transit. It's a detail most competitors never think about.

Yes — cross-border intermodal between the US and Canada is one of our specialties. We have direct contracts with both CN Rail and CP Rail, manage customs coordination, and have carrier relationships on both sides of the border. We've done thousands of cross-border moves. The complexity that intimidates other providers is routine for us.