GS 120 – iGlobalization: Moving The Things We Buy
Professor: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue
Topic 5 – Intermodal Transport
Systems
A – Intermodalism
B – Containerization
Hofstra University, Department of Global Studies & Geography
A – Intermodalism
Read section 1
Intermodalism and Transmodalism
Intermodalism
Origin
Road
Rail
Maritime
Destination
Transmodalism
Origin
Rail
Rail
Destination
Organization of Intermodal Transportation
Nature and quantity
• Suitable for intermediate and finished goods in load
units of less than 25 tons.
Transport modes
• Sequence of modes; an intermodal transport chain.
Dominant modes; trucking, rail, barges and maritime.
Origins and destinations
• Distances above 500 km (longer than one day of
trucking) usually require intermodal transportation.
Organization of Intermodal Transportation
Time and costs
• Use each mode according to their respective time and
cost advantages. Total transport costs are minimized.
Cargo value
• Suitable for intermediate cargo values. Low and high
value shipments are usually less suitable.
Frequency of shipments
• Cargo flows need to be continuous and in similar
quantities.
Multimodal and Intermodal Transportation
Multimodal Point-to-Point Network
Intermodal Integrated Network
C
A
C
A
B
B
Transshipment
Rail
Road
D
D
Transshipment
F
E
F
E
Distance, Modal Choice and Transport Costs
C1
Road
C2
Transport costs per unit
C3
Rail
D1
Maritime
D2
Distance
Freight Transport Costs per Ton-Mile (in 1995 dollars)
$0.70
$0.59
$0.60
$0.50
$0.40
$0.30
$0.25
$0.20
$0.10
$0.00
$0.01
Water
$0.03
Rail
Road
Air
Average Length of Haul, Domestic Freight in the United
States, 1960-2010 (in miles)
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
Air carrier
Truck
1000
Class I Rail
800
Coastal
600
400
200
0
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Modal Split in the EU, United States and Japan, 2005 (in % of
ton-km)
100%
80%
39.1
5.8
36.5
3.9
60%
10
38.2
40%
57.8
20%
44.2
28.5
0%
EU
USA
Japan
Pipeline
Coastal
Inland Waterways
Rail
Road
Intermodal Transport Chain
Composition
‘Last mile’
Interchange
Transfer
‘First mile’
Local / Regional Distribution
National / International Distribution
Transport Terminal
Decomposition
The North American Landbridge
B – Containerization
Read section 2
The Benefits of Containerization
• Lower freight rates
• Lower insurance
rates
• Minimal load unit
• Lower storage costs
• Lower packing and
packaging costs
• Faster inventory
turnover
• Time reliability
• Higher frequency
Transport
Costs
Inventory
Costs
Service
Level
Carrying Capacity of Containers (in cubic feet)
53 feet truck
4,090
53 feet high cube container
3,835
48 feet high cube container
3,489
45 feet high cube container
3,055
EILU Long 45
2,895
40 feet high cube container
2,700
40 feet standard container
2,391
20 feet standard container
1,170
0
500
1,000
1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500
Container Identification System
Owner Code (3 letters): TGH
Product Group Code (1 letter): U
Registration Number (6 digits): 759933
Check Digit (1 digit): 0
Size & Type Code (4 digits/letters): 45G1
Operational Characteristics
Maximum weight: 30,480 kg
Container weight: 3,870 kg
Payload weight: 26,610 kg
Cubic capacity: 2,700 cubic feet
Intermodal Terminal Equipment
Straddle Carrier
Circulate over container piles.
Can go over stacks up to 3 in
height. 500 to 700 TEU per
hectare.
Front-end Loader
Use container top anchor points.
Handle most containers. Can
reach stacks up to 3 in height.
Reach Stacker
Flexible side loaders. Can reach
stacks up to 3 full or 5 empty
containers in height. 500 TEU
per hectare.
Rubber-tired Gantry
High storage densities (1,000 TEU
per hectare). Difficult to move
from one stack to the other. High
acquisition but low operating
costs.
Rail-mounted Gantry
Highest storage density (widespan;
+1,000 TEU per hectare); mostly
used at port terminals. Lowest
operating costs. Fixed to rail
tracks.
Portainer
Load and unload containerships.
Various sizes (Panamax and
Super-Panamax).
Number of Units and Weight of Standard Consumption Goods
that Can be Carried by a 20 Foot Container
4,648
Pair of
shoes
6,029
3,916
DVD player
1,654
Payload Weight (kg)
8,279
Cell phone
Units
12,193
20,388
Copying
paper
1,685
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
World Container Traffic and Throughput, 1980-2011
600
500
400
World Traffic
World Throughput
Full Containers
Empty Containers
Transshipment
300
200
100
1980
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
0
Containerized Cargo Flows along Major Trade Routes, 19952011 (in millions of TEUs)
2011
12.7
6.0
14.1
2010
12.8
6.0
13.5
2009
10.6
6.1
2008
13.4
2007
13.5
2006
13.2
2005
2004
9.0
2002
8.4
11.2
8.2
5.1
3.8
7.4
3.4
4.7
2.5 1.6 2.6
2000
7.3
3.5
4.7
2.5 1.7 2.7
6.1
1998
2.9
5.4
2.9
3.9
3.6
1996
4.0
3.6
2.6
1995
4.0
3.5
2.4 2.0 1.7 1.7
0
5
3.0
10
3.5
3.7
3.0
Asia-North America
North America-Asia
Asia-Europe
Europe-Asia
North America-Europe
Europe-North America
2.3 1.7 2.1
2.2 1.6 1.7
15
2.4
3.3
3.3
2.1 1.7 2.3
4.6
3.3
3.7
2.3 1.5 2.4
1997
3.5
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.8
2.6 1.4 2.6
2001
1999
4.4
4.3
6.9
3.4
4.5
9.3
4.1
3.6
5.0
2.8
2.5
5.2
13.0
4.5
3.1
2.8
13.5
4.7
10.6
2003
5.5
5.3
3.4
5.6
11.5
6.9
11.9
6.2
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Advantages of Containerization
Read section 3
Factor
Advantage
Standard transport
product
Can be manipulated anywhere in the world (ISO standard).
Specialized ships, trucks and wagons.
Flexibility of usage
Commodities (coal, wheat), manufactured goods, cars, frozen products.
Adapted containers for dry cargo, liquids (oil and chemical products) and refrigerated cargo.
Reuse of discarded containers.
Management
Unique identification number and a size type code.
Transport management not in terms of loads, but in terms of units.
Costs
Low transport costs; 20 times less than bulk transport.
Economies of scale.
Speed
Transshipment operations are minimal and rapid.
Port turnaround times reduced from 3 weeks to about 24 hours.
Containerships are faster than regular freighter ships.
Warehousing
Its own warehouse; Simpler and less expensive packaging.
Stacking capacity on ships, trains (doublestacking) and on the ground.
Security
Contents of the container is unknown to carriers.
Can only be opened at the origin, at customs and at the destination.
Reduced spoilage and losses (theft).
Challenges of Containerization
Factor
Challenge
Site constraints
Large consumption of terminal space (mostly for storage); move to urban periphery.
Draft issues with larger containerships (more than 13 meters).
Infrastructure costs
Container handling infrastructures and equipment (giant cranes, warehousing facilities, inland road,
rail access), are important investments.
Stacking
Complexity of arrangement of containers, both on the ground and on modes (containerships and
double-stack trains).
Restacking difficult to avoid.
Theft and losses
High value goods and a load unit that can opened or carried (on truck).
Vulnerability between terminal and final destination.
10,000 containers are lost at sea each year (fall overboard).
Empty movements
Many containers are moved empty (20% of all flows).
Either full or empty, a container takes the same amount of space.
Divergence between production and consumption; repositioning.
Illicit trade
Common instrument used in the illicit trade of drug and weapons, as well as for illegal immigration.
Worries about the usage of containers for terrorism.
Stacked 40-Foot Containers, Port of Yantian, China
Loading Coffee into Containers, Cartagena, Colombia
40-Foot Containers Doublestacked on a Rail Car
40’ Reefer Container
20-Foot Tank Containers
The Ultimate “Kegger”
Reuse of a Discarded Container (South Africa)
Containerized Housing Units, Le Havre, France