For post-pandemic intermodal supply chains, cooperation within and across competing modes will be key to supporting new shipper strategies. Intermodal is, by definition, a “team sport” in which transportation stakeholders must work together toward the same goal: delivering freight. The intermodal industry achieves this goal every day through a choreography invisible to most end users.
This outline highlights the steps to move a single import shipment, the necessary equipment — boxes and chassis — and the imperative for a third-party logistics (3PL) coordinator/quarterback.
-
Vessel arrival at marine terminal
-
Container is offloaded onto chassis or stacked
-
Trucker picks up the container/chassis, delivers to the transload warehouse
-
Warehouse transloads containers into 53’ domestic container
-
Trucker picks up empty international container, returns to terminal/depot
-
Trucker picks up loaded 53’ domestic container to ingate at rail
-
Rail transit to inland intermodal facility
-
Train arrives at the ramp — container grounding dependent on chassis at ramp
-
Trucker outgates from the ramp, delivers to the consignee, then returns the empty container and chassis
At each stage above, in its purest form, cargo and equipment are exchanged, custody is transferred, and information is shared. These nodes between modes give intermodal its flexibility and versatility, providing track, trace, and rerouting opportunities.
Recent supply chain malfunctions, however, have served to disrupt the normal flow of intermodal cargo. This has required increased visibility, and above all, cooperation among stakeholders to accomplish what should be a seamless transaction. So, as we exit one period of uncertainty and prepare for the “new norm,” intermodal cooperation will continue to provide a value proposition for shippers.