The Basic Modes of Transportation

The basic modes available to the logistics

manager are rail, motor, water, pipeline,
and air.
Distribution of ton-miles*
*(a ton-mile is one ton of cargo carried one
mile, and is a standard statistical
measurement used in the transportation
industry).

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Railroads

Capable of carrying a wide variety

of products, much more so that
other modes.
Very small number of carriers;
likely only one will be able to
serve any one customer location.
Trend is to merge smaller
companies into larger ones with
ultimate goal of having perhaps
two transcontinental rail carriers.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Railroads

This would permit seamless

dock-to-dock service by one
company;
a
distinct
improvement
over
current
systems.
Rail is a long haul, large volume
system (high fixed costs; own
rights-of-way).
Accessibility can be a problem.
Transit times are spotty, but are
generally long.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Railroads

Reliability and safety are

improving and are generally good.
Premium intermodal services
Straight piggyback and
containerized freight
Double stacks
RoadRailer service
Unit train service
Intermodal Marketing Company
(IMC)

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Motor Carriers

Pakistan has a functional transport sector that

accounts for about 11 percent of its GDP
The transport sector consumes 35% of the total
energy annually and accounts for approximately
15% of Public Sector Development Projects.
6 percent of employment.
There were a total of 223,152 registered trucks
as of 2011, while the Government of Pakistan
estimates that only 93% of these are actually
plying the roads of Pakistan the rest of the 7%
being inactive due to poor condition.

The Basic Modes of

Transportation:
Motor Carriers
Composition of trucks by axle configuration
Two
Axle

Three
Axle

Four
Axle

Five &
Six Axle

Total

Numbers

53864

16805

6020

1503

78192

% age

70

21.5

7.7

1.92

100

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Motor Carriers

Comparative evolution of rail and road

freight
:
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Rail
Road

1955-60

1998-2009

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Motor Carriers

Existing Practices in Trucking Sector of

Pakistan:
According to an estimate, 30% of the 2, 3 axle
trucks are overloaded while 40% of 4, 5 and 6
axle trucks are overloaded.

Overview of interstate motor carrier

industry :

The Basic Modes of

Transportation:
Motor Carriers
High accessibility
Transit times faster than rail
or water.
Reliability can be affected
greatly by weather.
Small vehicle size coincides
with
lower
inventory
strategies
and
quick
replenishment (QR).
Relatively high cost compared
to rail and water; trade-off is
faster service.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

International Water Carriers

General cargo ships:

Large
high
capacity
cargo holds packaged
Material.
Engaged on a contract
basis
Many
have
selfcontained cranes for
loading/unloading

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

International Water Carriers

Bulk carriers:
A bulk carrier, is a
merchant ship specially
designed to transport
unpackaged bulk cargo,
such as grains, coal, ore,
and cement in its cargo
holds.
Specially designed to
haul minerals
Can
handle
multiple

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

International Water Carriers

Tankers:
Specially designed for liquid
cargoes
Largest vessels afloat, some
VLCCs(very Large Crude Carrier)
at 500k+ tons

Container ships:
High
speeds
for
ships;
increasingly more common and
important
Larger vessels can handle up to
5,000 containers.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

International Water Carriers

RO-RO (Roll on-Roll off):

Designed to carry wheeled cargo,
such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer
trucks, trailers, and railroad cars,
that are driven on and off the ship
on their own wheels or using a
platform vehicle, such as a selfpropelled modular transporter.
Basically a large ferry that
facilitates
the
loading
and
unloading process by using drive
on/off ramps
May also have the capacity to haul
containers

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

International Water Carriers

Other:
OBO multipurpose carriers:
An ore-bulk-oil carrier, also known as combination
carrier or OBO, is a ship designed to be capable of
carrying wet or dry cargoes.
The idea is to reduce the number of empty
voyages, in which large ships only carry a cargo
one way and return empty for another.
These are a feature of the larger bulk trades (e.g.
crude oil from the Middle East, iron ore and coal
from Australia, South Africa and Brazil).

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

International Water Carriers

Barges
(not
transoceanic) :
A barge is a flatbottomed boat, built
mainly for river and
canal transport of
heavy goods.
Some barges are not
self-propelled
and
need to be towed or
pushed by towboats.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Air Carrier

Limited number of large carriers earn about

90% of the revenue.

Any of the air carriers can carry air freight

although some haul nothing but freight.
Cost structure is highly variable; do not own
rights-of-way.
Transit times are fastest of the modes, but
rates are highest.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Air Carrier

Average revenue per ton

mile 18 times higher
than rail; twice that of
motor carriers.
Seek goods with a high
value to weight ratio.
Accessibility is low as is
capability.
Reliability subject to
weather more than other
modes.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Pipelines

Refers only to the oil

pipelines, not natural gas
Not suitable for general
transportation
Some research has been
performed to move minerals
in a liquid medium, but
outside of a few attempts to
transport slurried-coal via
pipeline, no real successes
have occurred.

The Basic Modes of Transportation:

Pipelines

Accessibility is very low.

Cost structure is highly
fixed with low variable
costs.
Own rights-of-way much
like the railroads.
Major advantage is low
rates.

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