To hear some folks talk STACKS are more profitable than carload. Seems unreasonable, but the railroads feel compelled to give all their "capacity" (includes management) to stacks so if the flood of volume is there they should at least make it more profitable...

I contest that carload takes more handling. Container yards seem about the most handling intensive places around. Intermodal takes acres and acres of storage space for all the inbound containers, chassis, wells, spines, that aren't immediately needed (if at all). All activities taking place in built up areas where land isn't cheap. Add to this giant handling equipment raising the loads vertically in the air, no wonder the ports are considered such polluters!

The hump yard network is already built, often out in the sticks and the smarter railroads have their carload network down to just two humps to get a car from origin switch to terminal switch. No truck involved - the railroad is the retailer.