I did intermodal work in St Louis for the past five years, and it has it's ups and downs. Where I was at 50% was empty and still received the same rate and FCS. In St Louis now all 20, 40, 45/48 chassis are marked MWCP and any box can be popped on there. The NS, UP, CSX, and BN have their own chassis for 53's like EMHU's, CSXU's, ect.
The major deterrent with Intermodal is said equipment. It is not maintained by anyone it seems. Tires have been re-capped well beyond the legal limit. It's not uncommon for you to have a tire failure and the tire guy not be able to find a DOT# on the casing. Brakes are usually poor if there are any at all :x And lights may or may not work correctly. Also count on most chassis to dog-leg about a foot in either direction. You may need an oversize permit :shock:
But, you can be home alot, the pay isn't bad, and work is pretty consistant.
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