Intermodal Transport

Intermodal transportation is a logistics term that refers to using multiple modes of transportation to deliver goods (ATD Lines, 2014). Typically, such goods are loaded into a shipping container, a corrugated metal box that is easy to move using different modes of transportation. The modes are usually boats, trucks and trains, but there may be times when air freight is used, or even unconventional transportation modes for certain goods and situations.

A typical route might be to use a boat to move the good from one continent to another, then use a train to get the container closer to its destination, then a truck for final delivery. So for example, using a container ship to get a load of cowboy shirts from Dhaka to Singapore, then on to Los Angeles. At that point, the train takes it to Albuquerque, where it then takes a left via truck up the interstate to Santa Fe.

There are a couple of different objectives of intermodal transportation. The first is that they allow companies to get goods from one part of the world to another with reduced time and cost. The second is that they allow for a relatively smooth transition between modes, which further facilitates efficiency. The latter occurs because the shipping is done with standardized shipping containers. Instead of the goods being loaded and unloaded with each change of vehicle, the container is simply moved from one mode to the other.

In some instances, this may not be the case, but the optimal situation relies on containers to streamline the logistics process (Bektas & Crainic, 2007). Intermodal is indeed defined by the streamlining of the process. This differentiates it from multimodal transportation, which may require packing and unpacking of goods in order to transfer them between different modes. Intermodal implies smoother transitions, and transport that is arranged from one end to the other, ensuring fluidity of movement in the goods.

This is in contrast to a more piecemeal system that, even if it involves containers, might involve the waiting around at certain points, or being packed and unpacked. One of the other elements of intermodal transportation is that loads should ideally be consolidated (Bektas & Crainic, 2007). While multimodal and single mode shipments can often be comprised of LTL or less-than-truckload shipments, ideally intermodal shipments will be consolidated.

This can be done by gathering goods at a specific point and place prior to being loaded onto the container, so there is a higher level of supply chain management required, in particular with respect to communications with suppliers in order to coordinate these efforts so that they are executed in an efficient manner. Where LTL is used, it is most often to be used at the local level (i.e. from warehouse to store, or between warehouses within a region). Carriers have become increasingly adept at intermodal transportation.

This has occurred because communications are much more efficient today than has perhaps been the case in the past. This allows for much more rapid communication, which in turn allows orders to be consolidated more effectively. Conceivably a company can have containers shipped daily, even with different goods, if the organization is sufficiently effective.