Michael Baumgardt serves as SVP and general manager of intermodal for Schneider, responsible for all aspects of the company’s intermodal service offering, including managing rail relationships and ensuring reliable service for customers. Baumgardt has been with Schneider for over 22 years and is experienced across many different sectors of the business. Regardless of his daily tasks, he always dedicates time to continuous improvement, leads by example and inspires his team to do the same. A key aspect of Baumgardt's role is long-term strategic planning, anticipating future challenges and helping customers resolve potential roadblocks before they even develop. In fact, he's devoted significant effort to planning for more continuous rail service, providing shippers with a competitive edge in regions traditionally dependent on over-the-road transport.
Under Baumgardt's leadership, Schneider operated one of the largest fleets of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the country, and was the first major carrier to achieve 6 million zero emission miles with the Freightliner eCascadia. As a result, Schneider opened a charging depot in South El Monte, Calif., allowing the company to charge 32 trucks simultaneously. Baumgardt worked with the equipment, maintenance and operations teams to ensure a seamless operation. Baumgardt also helped Schneider convert truckload freight in Mexico by partnering with Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX to offer a new lane for shippers who traditionally rely on over-the-road transport. In December 2024, Baumgardt's team launched a new intermodal service providing continuous rail service between points in Mexico and Texas and points in the Southeastern United States, working in accordance with CPKC and CSX. The new service also helps customers increase payload and savings by 10% or more because of Schneider’s lightweight, company-owned equipment and specialized heavy-haul permits. With Baumgardt's leadership in transitioning Schneider’s rail service to the UP Railroad in the West, aligning with CPKC in the North-South and continuing the long-standing relationship with CSX, Schneider is in position to reach its goal of doubling intermodal size by 2030 and reducing CO2 emissions by an additional 700 million pounds per year.
Baumgardt's focus in the next 12 months is converting truckload freight to intermodal to help customers drive supply chain efficiency and sustainability.
We talked exclusively with Baumgardt about the plans for more continuous rail service, the importance of charging depots and why converting truckload freight to intermodal drives supply chain efficiency and sustainability.
