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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...
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…
References
ATD Lines. (2014). What is intermodal transportation? ATD Lines. Retrieved March 7, 2014 from http://www.atdlines.com/pdf/market.pdf
Bektas, T. & Crainic, T. (2007). A brief overview of intermodal transportation. CIRRELT T-2007-03. Retrieved March 7, 2014 from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/228526622_A_brief_overview_of_intermodal_transportation/file/e0b49517bd29956ee3.pdf
Intermodal Key to the concept of intermodal transportation is that this is related to logistics. Firms must be able to move goods around the world. They need to get supplies to production facilities, finished goods to warehouses and then to retail outlets or the end customer. This need for transportation has resulted in the development of a number of different transportation solutions. It is necessary to understand that transportation solutions emerge
Rail and water or maritime transport could be said to be a better protector of the environment compared to road and air modes of transportation, due mainly to the amount of fuel used or burned per ton of cargo moved. Also, water or ocean vessels can provide a very diverse form of intermodal transport. Container ships have huge capacities given the standardized containers, and the larger ships being constructed today.
To a degree, all freight transported across vast geographic distances requires multiple modalities and methods combining land and sea. The advent of airborne shipping options in the twentieth century introduced yet another element into the portfolio of intermodal freight transport. Based on historical trends, patterns of emerging markets and consumption patterns, plus political and economic constraints, the future of intermodal freight transport will be complex, dynamic, and responsive to situational
Intermodal Transportation Traditionally, the transport system was un-integrated and highly segmented, with each mode seeking to exploit its safety, reliability, service and cost advantages to the best of its ability so as to increase revenue and retain business. Each mode viewed the other as a competitor and, hence, treated it with some level of mistrust and suspicion. Public policy accentuated the situation further by frequently barring "companies from owning firms in
Operations Management Positive and Negative Influences of Legislation and Regulation on Intermodal Transportation Intermodal transportation is seen where goods, or people, travel across different forms or modes of transport. There are many influences on this type of transportation; the development of containers increased the demand for intermodal transportation, and technology that support longer supply chain has also increase demand. Another influence on the industry has been legislation and regulation, which has had
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