Intermodal freight movement usually refers to moving cargo by rail at least for part of the move. In technical terms, intermodal means moving cargo between any two or more modes of travel. It could be ship directly to truck or truck to ship or ship to rail directly. Or ship to truck to rail.
Shippers use intermodal primarily for cost savings. When trucking rates are relatively higher than rail, shippers look to move cargo by rail. And vice versa. Intermodal may take a bit longer time in transit; but this may not be enough of a problem to hamper the cost savings. The cost savings normally kick in to higher gear when travel is over longer distances. In other words, moving cargo for short hauls is hard to capture the needed savings.
Rail companies have been investing heavily in making intermodal easier and less costly. Bigger logistics companies even help shippers move refrigerated cargo by rail including the ability to monitor temperatures during the move.
For smaller freight brokers, getting involved in intermodal starts with the shipper and understanding what they need to move their cargo.
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