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
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Intermodalism and Transmodalism
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Intermodalism
Origin
Road
Rail
Maritime
Destination
Transmodalism
Origin
Rail
Rail
What is the fundamental difference between intermodal and
transmodal transportation?
Destination
Integrated Freight Transport Systems: Intermodal and
Transmodal Operations
Road
Transloading facility
Distribution Center/ Cross-docking
Rail
Thruport
Maritime
Intermodal operations
On-dock rail
Port container yard
Intermediate Hub
Transmodal operations
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
Explain under what circumstances intermodal transportation is used.
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.
Pallets waiting to be loaded in a container, Shenzhen, China
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Multimodal and Intermodal Transportation
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Multimodal Point-to-Point Network
Intermodal Integrated Network
C
A
C
A
B
B
Transshipment
Rail
Road
D
D
Transshipment
F
E
F
E
Explain how an integrated intermodal network can be
a more efficient form of transportation.
Multimodal Transport System
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National / Continental
Maritime / Land interface
Gateways and Hubs
A
B
C
Intermodal Corridor
Gateway or Hub
Regional
E
Satellite Terminals
and Inland Ports
H
A
B
F
C
Intermodal terminal
Distribution center
G
Modal Link
Local
E
H
Distribution Centers
F
G
Competition or
Complementarity
Distance, Modal Choice and Transport Costs
C1
Road
C2
Transport costs per unit
C3
Rail
D1
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Maritime
D2
Distance
Freight Transport Costs per Ton-Mile (in 1995 dollars)
$0.70
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$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
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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%
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80%
39.1
5.8
36.5
3.9
60%
10
38.2
40%
57.8
20%
Pipeline
Coastal
Inland Waterways
Rail
Road
44.2
28.5
0%
EU
USA
Japan
Why Europe, the US and Japan have different composition of transport modes?
Intermodal Transport Chain
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Composition
‘Last mile’
Interchange
Transfer
‘First mile’
Local / Regional Distribution
National / International Distribution
Transport Terminal
Decomposition
The North American Landbridge
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The Eurasian Landbridge
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Explain how the North American and Eurasian
Landbridge are examples of intermodalism.
Short Assignment: The Choice of a Transport Mode
Explain how distance and cost are factors in
selecting a specific transport mode.
B – Containerization
Read section 2
The Benefits of Containerization
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• 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
The container has become a dominant mode of global freight transportation.
Explain the main reasons why.
Carrying Capacity of Containers (in cubic feet)
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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
Composition of the American Domestic Container Fleet,
2003-2012
250,000
200,000
Units
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
48-Foot
2007
2008
53-Foot
2009
2010
2011
2012
Container Identification System
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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
Common ISO Container Size and Type Codes
Length
Height
Type
2
20 feet
2
8 feet 6 inches
G1
General purpose container
4
40 feet
5
9 feet 6 inches
R1
Refrigerated container
L
45 feet
“High cube”
U1
Open top container
M
48 feet
P1
Platform container
T1
Tank container
Intermodal Terminal Equipment
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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).
Characteristics of Portainers
Panamax
Post Panamax
Super Port
Panamax
Outreach
30 to 40 m (13
containers wide)
40 to 45 m (18
containers wide)
46 to 70 m (22+
containers wide)
Lift Height
24 to 30 m
30 to 35 m
30 to 49 m
Lift Capacity
40 to 50 t single / 65
t twin
40 to 50 t single / 65
t twin
65 t twin / 80 t
tandem
Hoisting Speed
50 to 125 m per
minute
60 to 150 m per
minute
70 to 175 m per
minute
Trolley Speed
150 to 180 m per
minute
180 to 210 m per
minute
210 to 240 m per
minute
Lateral Travel Speed 45 m per minute
45 m per minute
45 m per minute
Wheel Load
30 to 45 t per meter
40 to 45 t per meter
60 to 80 t per meter
Cost
$4 to 5 million
$6 to 8 million
$8 to 10 million
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
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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
What is the difference between “weighting out” versus “cubing out” in
containerized transportation?
Containerization as a Diffusion Cycle: World Container Traffic
(1980-2014)
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1000
900
Adoption
Acceleration
1966-1992
1992-2002
Peak Growth
Maturity
2002-2008
2008 Reference
800
Million TEU
700
Vision and risk
600
New (niche) services
Productivity gains
500
Network development
Productivity multipliers
Reality
Developing
opportunities
400
Niche markets
300
200
Massive diffusion
Network complexities
100
0
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
The Four Revolutions of Containerization
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Phase 3
Phase 1
Inland Port
Transshipment
hub
Phase 4
Phase 2
Gateway
CER
Intermodal
terminal
Containerization Growth Factors
Derived
Substitution
Economic and
income growth
Globalization
(outsourcing)
Fragmentation
of production
and
consumption
Functional and
geographical
diffusion
New niches
(commodities
and cold chain)
Capture of bulk
and break-bulk
markets
Incidental
Induced
Trade
imbalances
Repositioning
of empty
containers
Transshipment
(hubbing, relay
and
intersection)
Containerized Cargo Flows along Major Trade Routes, 19952013 (in millions of TEUs)
Why container flows are imbalanced and what happens
with empty containers?
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
13.8
7.4
13.1
6.9
12.4
6.9
12.3
6.5
10.6
13.2
13.5
11.2
4.5
10.6
8.2
3.6
8.4
5.1
3.8
3.4
4.7
2.5 1.6 2.6
7.3
3.5
4.7
2.5 1.7 2.7
2.9
5.4
2.9
4.6
3.5
3.9
3.6
3.0
4.0
3.5
2.4 2.0 1.7 1.7
10
3.7
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Asia-North America
North America-Asia
Asia-Europe
Europe-Asia
North America-Europe
Europe-North America
2.2 1.6 1.7
15
3.3
3.5
3.0
2.3 1.7 2.1
2.6
2.4
3.3
2.1 1.7 2.3
3.6
3.3
3.7
2.3 1.5 2.4
4.0
5
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.1
3.2
2.6 1.4 2.6
7.4
6.1
4.4
4.3
6.9
3.4
4.5
9.3
4.1
9.0
5.0
3.4
2.8
5.2
13.0
4.7
11.9
2.5
2.8
3.8
3.6
2.7
5.7
5.5
5.3
2.7
6.2
13.3
6.9
2.8
6.3
14.1
11.5
13.5
6.4
13.7
6.1
13.4
0
14.1
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Containerized Cargo Flows along Major Trade Routes, 2012
Million TEUs 13.3 (+175%) Growth (2006-2012)
6.9 (+48%)
16.0
13.1
Asia
27.0
North America
6.3 (+178%)
10.5
2.7 (+55%)
3.6 (+23%)
Imports (M TEUs)
17.3
Europe
9.0
Exports (M TEUs)
13.7 (+293%)
Advantages and Drawbacks of Containerization
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Advantages
Drawbacks
Standardization
ISO standard (modes and
equipment). Unique identification
number and size type code.
Site Constraints
Large consumption of terminal
space. Draft issues with larger
containerships.
Flexibility
Commodities, manufactured
goods, liquids and refrigerated
goods.
Capital Intensiveness
Container handling
infrastructures and equipment
are important investments.
Low transport costs. Economies
of scale at modes and terminals.
Stacking
Complexity of arrangement of
containers, both on the ground
and on modes.
Velocity
Fast transshipment operations.
Low terminal turnaround times.
Repositioning
Divergence between production
and consumption; repositioning.
20% of all containers.
Warehousing
Own warehouse; simpler and less
expensive packaging. Stacking
capability.
Theft and Losses
High value goods vulnerable to
thefts, particularly between
terminal and final destination.
Security & Safety
Contents unknown to carriers.
Reduced spoilage and losses.
Illicit Trade
Illicit trade of goods, drugs and
weapons, as well as for illegal
immigration.
Costs
$
$
Container Usage during its Life-Span
16%
16%
56%
6%
6%
Ocean Transit
Terminal
Inland Use
Repair
Idle or Empty Repositioning
Stacked 40-Foot Containers, Port of Yantian, China
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Loading Coffee into Containers, Cartagena, Colombia
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Why a commodity such as coffee is carried in containers?
Piggyback and Doublestack Train Cars
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Piggyback (TOFC)
40’ (12.2 m)
9’ (2.7 m)
17’ (2.7 m)
85’ (25.9 m)
Doublestack (COFC)
18’ (5.5 m)
65’ (19.8 m)
40-Foot Containers Doublestacked on a Rail Car
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40’ Reefer Container
20-Foot Tank Containers
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The Ultimate “Kegger”
Reuse of a Discarded Container (South Africa)
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Discarded containers have many uses. Searching to web, provide
some examples about how containers can be reused.
Containerized Housing Units, Le Havre, France
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Short Assignment: “The World in a Box”
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The container has several advantages and drawbacks.
Provide a succinct explanation of the advantages and
drawbacks you think are the most important.