Intermodal
Logistics Term
What’s intermodal?
Intermodal is a form of transportation that involves moving goods in the same shipping containers through different modes of transport. It could be from a ship to a truck to a rail, then to a truck again. That is a fast way to deliver goods, and it's also safe. Intermodal works because a shipping container is filled with goods and sealed. The shipping container is loaded on a truck and shipped to port A. Here, the shipping container is unloaded and loaded to a ship transporting it to port B. It’s again unloaded and loaded on a train transporting it to the final destination through rail.
Intermodal - In The Field
That’s just one example of how intermodal works. The order of modes of transport may differ depending on where the goods are coming from and delivered. However, one thing remains the same: the shipping container with the goods. Intermodal is cost-effective because the owner only pays for loading and unloading once. Sometimes, it can be inconvenient because the shipping container has to be loaded and unloaded multiple times. That means there might be some delays at some point.
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