Intermodal vs Multimodal Transportation

Intermodal and Multimodal These two terms are often used loosely
and interchangeably, but the question is what is the difference.
Here, we will discuss what they mean and what they represent in day to day
shipping and freight environment.

Definitions :
Intermodal is the movement of cargo from origin to destination by several
modes of transport where each of these modes have a different transport provider
or entity responsible, each with its own independent contract.. Multiple carriers
during a single journey
Multimodal is the movement of cargo from origin to destination by several
modes of transport where each of these modes have a different transport provider
or entity responsible, but under a single contract.. Single carrier during a single
journey
Simply put, the key functions of both terminologies are the same, but the
differentiation lies in the contract and responsibility of the movement..
Explanation :
Intermodal operation : Cargo moving from Leicester in UK to Pretoria in
South Africa Cargo is packed in Leicester and moved by truck to the port of
Felixstowe by a transport service provider (could also be termed as an Intermodal
service provider) under the employ of the shipper.

From Felixstowe, the carrier takes responsibility of the movement of the cargo to
the discharge port in South Africa say Durban.
From Durban port the consignee uses their transport service provider (could also
be termed as an Intermodal service provider) to move the cargo by rail from to
Pretoria Rail Terminal followed by a road move to their premises or a full road
move from Durban port to their premises in Pretoria..
The rail and road service may be provided by the same transport service provider
or could be done by two different service providers..
In this case, the carrier issues a Port to Port Bill of lading, and the whole
operation is called an Intermodal Operation as it involves several contracts :
Between Seller or Buyer and Transport service provider for road/rail
movement from Leicester to Felixstowe
Between Seller or Buyer and Carrier for sea movement from Felixstowe to
Durban
Between Seller or Buyer and Transport service provider(s) for rail/road
movement from Durban to Pretoria

Multimodal operation : Cargo moving from Leicester in UK to Pretoria in

South Africa Cargo is packed in Leicester and moved by truck to the port of
Felixstowe by a transport service provider (could also be termed as an Intermodal
service provider) under the employ of the carrier.

Cargo moves from Felixstowe to the discharge port in South Africa say Durban.
From Durban port a transport service provider (could also be termed as an
Intermodal service provider) under the employ of the carrier moves the cargo by
rail from to Pretoria Rail Terminal followed by a road move to the consignees
premises or a full road move from Durban port to consignees premises in
Pretoria..

The rail and road service may be provided by the same transport service provider
or could be done by two different service providers.
Here, neither the seller nor the buyer are arranging any contracts other than their
contract of carriage with the carrier.
In this case, the carrier issues a Combined Transport Bill of
Lading or a Multimodal Bill of Lading, and the whole operation is
called a Multimodal Operation and it involves a single contract :
Between Seller or Buyer and Carrier for sea movement from Felixstowe to
Durban
The costs/risks for such contracts will of course depend on the Incoterms used
for this trade.
More often than not, the above movements on the land leg are outsourced by the
carrier to transport service providers as a lot of the carriers dont have their own
infrastructure to carry out these movements. However, here the carrier enters into
direct contract with their service providers.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Different Modes Of Transport.

Transportation is an important link of the logistics system. Transport is a
branch of material production, transporting people and goods.
Here are the main means of transport: rail, marine, inland, waterways
(river), automobile, air, and pipeline.
Each of the modes of transport has specific characteristics in terms of
logistics management, strengths and weaknesses, determine the
possibilities of its use in the logistics system.
1. Rail. Advantages: high throughput, and the freight, regardless of
climatic conditions, time of year and day, high frequency of traffic, the
ability to effectively organize the implementation of loading and
unloading operations; relatively low rates and significant discounts for
transit shipments, high speed delivery of goods over long distances.
Disadvantages: limited number of carriers, large capital investments
in industrial and technology base, high material and energy intensity
of transport, low accessibility to the final point of sales (consumption),
high enough of the cargo.

2. Naval. Advantages: possibility of intercontinental transport, low cost

of transport over long distances, the freight and high throughput, low
capital intensity of transport. Disadvantages: limited traffic, low speed

of delivery (large transit time), depending on geographical,

navigational and weather conditions, the need for complex email
infrastructure, stringent requirements for packaging and stowage of
cargo, the low frequency of shipments.

3. Inland waterways (river). Advantages: high carrying capacity in the

deep rivers and reservoirs, low transportation costs, low capital
intensity. Disadvantages: limited traffic, low speed of delivery of
goods; dependence on the uneven depth of rivers and reservoirs,
navigation conditions, seasonality, low reliability of transport and
cargo safety.

4. Road transport. Advantages: high availability, possibility of delivery of

cargo from door to door; high agility, flexibility, agility, ability to use
different routes and delivery schemes, high safety of the cargo, the
possibility of sending the goods in small batches; great opportunity to
select the most suitable carrier. Disadvantages: low productivity,
dependence on weather and road conditions, the relatively high cost
of transport over long distances, lack of environmental cleanliness,
punctuality of discharge, a relatively small payload.

5. Air transport. Advantages: the highest speed of delivery, high

reliability, the highest integrity; the possibility of reaching remote
areas. Disadvantages: high cost of transportation, the highest rates
among the other modes of transport, high capital intensity, material
and energy transport, the dependence on weather conditions.
6. Pipeline. Advantages: low cost, high capacity, high safety of the
cargo, low capital intensity. Disadvantages: limited types of cargo
(gas, oil, emulsions and raw materials), low availability of small
volumes of transported cargo.
Transportation Modes
The five primary modes of transportation include air, water, rail, trucking
and pipeline. In addition, there are inter-modal combinations that are
associated with integrating rail with truck and ocean modes. The two
primary modes based on U.S. tonnage shipped are truck carrier and rail. In
terms of revenue, truck carriers jumps to a higher level above rail. Pipeline
is used for moving bulk commodities (i.e. oil), but isnt part of a typical
distribution center network.
Trucking carriers (motor) offer point-to-point service between almost any
origin-destination combination and provide the widest market coverage of
any mode.

The most common trucking options used in distribution centers are small
parcel, truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL). Small parcel is used
mainly for small volume outbound shipments and competes with LTL
carriers. TL carriers compete with rails for larger volume shipments that are
transported more than 500 miles. The average length of haul for trucking
carriers is approximately 500 miles.
The flexibility and versatility of trucking carriers has enabled them to
become the dominant form of transport in the Americas and in many other
parts of the world. Trucking rates are expected to increase again this year
at a rate of 3% to 4%. The primary reasons for this increase are higher fuel
costs and insufficient carrier capacities.
Rail is mainly used to ship large volumes inbound and has an average
length of haul of approximately 750 miles. The rail network is not nearly as
extensive as the highway network and is limited to fixed track facilities. As a
result, rail provides terminal-to-terminal service rather than point-to-point
service unless companies have a rail siding at their facility.
Rail transport generally costs less (on a weight basis) than air and trucking,
but compared to trucking carriers, has disadvantages in terms of transit
time and frequency of service. Some of this rail disadvantage is overcome
through the use of trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) or container-on-flatcar (COFC)
services. These inter-modal options offer the economy of rail movements
with the flexibility of trucking routes. TOFC and COFC are referred to as
piggyback service and is a growing trend in the industry for moving goods
over 700 miles.
Airfreight offers the quickest time-in-transit of any transport mode. Although
increasing numbers of shippers are using airfreight for regular service,
most view air transport as premium, emergency service because of its high
cost.
Shipping competition varies between domestic and international needs.
Domestically, airfreight mainly competes with trucking carriers, whereas the
major competitor for international airfreight is water carriage.
Air carriers usually transport high-value products because it cannot be
justified for low-value items. Air transport provides frequent and rapid timein-transit service, but terminal delays and congestion reduces some of the
advantages. Over short distances, trucking transport can often match or out
perform the air total transit time.
As customers demand higher levels of service and international shipments
increase, air may have a greater role in the supply chain plans of many
companies. However, increasing security issues must be considered for the
impact on transit time and costs.
Water transportation includes several distinct categories: inland waterway,
lakes, coastal and inter-coastal ocean, and international deep sea. Water is
the dominant mode in international shipping and is the most inexpensive
method of shipping high-bulk, low-value commodities.

Containers play a big role in domestic and most international water

shipments. The shipper places cargo into a container at its facility. The
container is then transported by rail or trucking carriage to a water port for
loading onto a container ship. After arrival at the port, it is unloaded and
loaded onto a rail or trucking carrier and delivered to the customer.
The use of containers for inter-modal logistics reduces staffing needs,
minimizes in-transit damage and pilferage, and shortens time-in-transit
because of reduced port turnaround time. Containers are typically 8 feet
high by 8 feet wide and of various lengths from 20 feet to 53 feet. The
container ships are capable of carrying the equivalent of 6,000 twenty-foot
containers.
Today, there are many problems at the ports impacting the timeliness of
unloading containers from ocean liners. The increase in import volumes,
aging port equipment, shortage of rail capacities and limited number of
truck drivers and carriers are contributing to this growing problem.