June 12th, 2025 – As U.S. ports brace for a summer surge in container imports from China, Trac Intermodal – the country’s largest provider of intermodal chassis – is positioning itself to meet the demand head-on. Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Jake Gilene said the company is actively preparing for a rebound in volumes starting in late June and early July, based on close coordination with customers and real-time forecasting data.
Trac, which manages a fleet of 200,000 domestic, marine, and specialty chassis, is focused on ensuring equipment is available where it’s needed most. This involves carefully coordinating supply across ports and terminals and maintaining strategic reserves in high-demand regions.
In the wake of pandemic-era supply chain disruptions, Trac implemented a chassis reserve program in partnership with Union Pacific. This initiative placed equipment in key locations to ensure availability during unforeseen disruptions. That strategy is now being expanded to other markets where customer demand and usage data indicate the need for safety stock.
Beyond reserve planning, Trac also participates in 12 neutral chassis pools nationwide and operates four private pools on the West Coast with ocean carriers including CMA CGM, Zim, Evergreen, and Hede International Shipping.
When trans-Pacific trade slowed during the recent tariff dispute, Trac used the lull to reposition idle upgraded chassis from California to the Midwest, helping refresh fleets that were impacted by harsh winter conditions.
Now, with suspended ocean services returning and shipping schedules filling up, Trac is seeing a mix of backlogged shipments and newly produced goods entering the pipeline. This anticipated volume surge will test the company’s logistics planning, especially around one key factor: dwell time. Gilene noted that average dwell time typically hovers around six to seven days, but during COVID-era congestion, it spiked by as much as four times. If containers don’t move efficiently, chassis availability could once again become strained.
The duration of this surge remains uncertain. Past disruptions have shown that short-term shutdowns can have long-lasting ripple effects – COVID-era delays took over a year to unwind. In response, Trac is preemptively repairing more units and evaluating expansion of its reserve programs.
Adding another layer to the shifting dynamics, Gilene observed that more motor carriers have started investing in their own chassis fleets since the pandemic, reducing dependence on shared pools.
For Trac, the looming import wave could bring some relief. In December, Moody’s shifted its outlook for the company to negative, citing tariff risks that could dampen import volumes. A strong rebound in container traffic may help turn that outlook around.
