Start of a trend? Several companies are stepping up purchases of intermodal equipment.(Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. sells its assets)

BNSF Railway's move to shift ownership of intermodal assts to others has raised questions about how rival transportation companies will respond to this change in the intermodal landscape.

Hub Group may face the most risk, given the company's exposure to intermodal as one of the biggest users of the North American Container System, a nationwide pool of containers made available for public use by several Class 1 railroads. But Hub has been active in the container market as well, buying 3,400 53-foot domestic containers this year for $33 million.

"We're putting those into play as they come into the West Coast ports," said Steve Cosgrove, Hub's executive vice president of operations and administration. "It's minimizing our …