Do you really know Intermodal? A Look at the Misconceptions

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘intermodal’…slow, unreliable, complicated?

There are many forms of intermodal transportation. The type of intermodal we are addressing is where a truck handles both ends of the shipment for a pickup and delivery, with the long-haul being run over the rail.

The railroads have made and continue to make substantial investments in infrastructure, technology and people to give intermodal truck-like characteristics, while being cost and transit competitive on lanes over 750 miles. The investments have positioned intermodal as the fastest growing segment in domestic transportation and pushed what many call the highway-to-rail conversion to the next level.

With that said, there are still many shippers holding out on the tremendous value intermodal can bring to their organization because of many misconceptions that still exist in the marketplace.

These misconceptions were created years ago and have since been corrected, but continue to live in the folklore of many transportation decision makers’ offices today. The image misconceptions is a contributing factor to shippers leaving an estimated 20 million loads yearly on the road that would be a good fit for intermodal.

Key intermodal advantages you’ll learn more about:

• Cost Savings

• Competitive Transits

• Shipment Protection

• Enhanced Capacity Requirements

• Decreased Highway Congestion/Improved Carbon Footprint