YRC Freight has announced that by the end of the year, YRC and BNSF Railway Company will have onboarded more than 600 branded intermodal containers to improve efficiency.

The containers are part of YRC’s commitment to acquire 1,000 branded intermodal containers by the end of 2020, most of which will travel between Chicago and Southern California on BNSF’s network.

“At YRC Freight, our intermodal commerce with BNSF is evolving. We are reinforcing our commitment to YRC Freight-branded containerized units for the present and the future,” said T.J. O’Connor, YRC Worldwide chief operating officer and YRC Freight president. “As intermodal usage continues to shift to containerized transport, YRC Freight will already be there.”

Intermodal operations between truck and rail are a strategy to reduce emissions when moving trailers or containers over long distances, according to YRC. YRC had deployed a number of strategies to this end, including work with BNSF in the Central and Western U.S., onboarding new tractors with emissions reduction technologies and the integration of routing and load optimization software.

“Operationally, all intermodal companies are looking at how to improve efficiency,” said Maynard Skarka, YRC Freight senior vice president, operations. “Currently, we use smaller trailers called ‘pups’ to transport freight for our customers. This new shift to our branded containerized units will allow us to stay aligned with intermodal companies as we both look for operational efficiencies.”