IANA continues to pay close attention to e-commerce impact on intermodal

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) examined the rise of e-commerce and the future of expedited intermodal at its last annual conference, and will likely address the issue in greater detail throughout the year.

“E-commerce and associated services have fueled ever-increasing service expectations on the part of shippers,” says Derrick Broome, vice president of intermodal for C.A.T. Global, a multimodal service provider. As an IANA board member, he also notes that the mission for surface mode transport providers will now be to determine how the marketplace requirement is evolving under increased pressure in the demand cycle.

“For intermodal to remain in the game, intermediaries are going to have to move light years ahead in the way they process information,” says Broome. “This not only speeds up business, but creates closer bond with the shipper as transparency is enhanced.”

 In related news, IANA has been promoting its Intermodal Freight Resource Center (IFRC), created to provide a portal for educational content, industry information and facts, economic data, and research and reference materials regarding the intermodal freight industry.

According to spokesmen, the IFRC is an “organic project” and will grow over time with input from IANA’s members, industry stakeholders, and the general public.