Intermodal shippers using more than two dozen lanes operated by CSX Transportation will have to wait approximately an additional day before their containers are available for terminal pickup and final delivery under revised schedules taking effect Sept. 8.

CSX said the changes, which affect 25 lanes, are intended to improve network fluidity around Atlanta and northwest Ohio, according to a notice sent to customers this week.

The railroad has struggled for weeks at its Fairburn terminal near Atlanta, where some truck drivers have waited multiple hours to have containers lifted directly from trains. The problems persisted through Thursday, according to a CSX intermodal customer who did not want to be identified.

“CSX Transportation regularly reviews and adjusts service plans to support network fluidity and meet evolving customer needs,” the railroad wrote in the customer advisory, which was obtained by the Journal of Commerce.

A CSX spokesperson confirmed the advisory’s authenticity but declined to say whether trains will move slower or whether the railroad is building additional time into terminal processing and container availability. CSX could also increase the cushion built into its published schedules that are used to calculate on-time performance metrics.

CSX did not answer a question from the Journal of Commerce on whether the changes were temporary or permanent.

Although only four of the 25 affected lanes list Fairburn or CSX’s Northwest Ohio terminal as an origin or destination, all appear to move through or connect with operations at one of those terminals. Routes between Mexico or Texas and Florida, for example, move through Fairburn before continuing to Jacksonville and the Orlando suburbs. Trains between Savannah and Chicago also stop at Fairburn, while an affected service between Buffalo and Chicago moves through northwest Ohio.

CSX will push container availability exactly 24 hours later on 22 of the 25 lanes, according to its advisory, while availability on the remaining three will be pushed between 20 to 31 hours later. Gate cutoffs remain unchanged on all but one lane.

CSX intermodal partners, including J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Schneider National, STG Logistics, and non-asset intermodal marketing companies will have to incorporate the longer published schedules when offering rail options to shippers, even if actual train running times do not change.

Domestic intermodal volumes across North America grew 10.8% year over year during the second quarter and increased by more than 12% in July, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. Some of the strongest growth has occurred on lanes east of the Mississippi River as shippers seek less expensive alternatives to truckload service amid rising trucking rates.

Cost, reliable service, and transit time are all important factors when shippers choose between truckload and intermodal. Higher truckload rates improve the potential savings provided by rail, but CSX’s longer published schedules widen the transit time disadvantage. Still, shippers may accept that tradeoff if the additional time produces more consistent and predictable service.