Basic Intermodal Operation:

From Origin Port the carrier takes responsibility of the movement of the cargo to the discharge port

From discharge port the consignee uses their transport service provider (could also be termed as an
Intermodal service provider) to move the cargo by rail followed by a road move to their premises or
a full road move

The rail and road service may be provided by the same transport service provider or could be done
by two different service providers..

In this case, the carrier issues a Port to Port Bill of lading, and the whole operation is called an
Intermodal Operation as it involves several contracts :

Between Seller or Buyer and Transport service provider for road/rail movement

sea movement

The costs/risks for such contracts will of course depend on the Incoterms® used for this trade.

When is Intermodal Transportation a right choice?

Here’s a few things to consider when deciding whether intermodal is a good fit for your shipments.

 Intermodal transportation is most suitable for intermediate and finished goods in load units
of less than 25 tons.
 The longer the distance a shipment needs to travel, the more likely it is that intermodal will
be a good choice. Freight moving more than 300 miles, or longer than one day by truck, are
great candidates for intermodal transportation.
 Cargo with intermediate values are most likely to be moved via intermodal. Those with high
values are often sent via the most direct methods, such as air cargo, and low value
shipments frequently travel via rail or ocean.
 Intermodal transportation is a good selection when cargo flow needs to be continuous and
in similar quantities. For example, if you’re sending multiple LTL shipments to the same
location throughout the week, you may want to consider using intermodal instead.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Intermodal services

Fast transport:  Using railways and ferries eliminates unnecessary stops and results in fast
transportation movement. This reduces costs as well as the time needed for loading and unloading
and in issuing documentation.

Environmentally friendly – The most significant advantage of intermodal transportation is in

reducing the carbon footprint.  Railways is an environmental-friendly transport option if an
organization is looking at transport modes to reduce its overall carbon footprint. One ton of cargo
one mile via railways will minimize carbon-di-oxide and carbon monoxide emissions by nearly 83%
which is a huge difference.

Flexibility – The intermodal transportation method provides flexibility in the movement of freight.
Also, technological advancements have made intermodal transportation reliable and efficient. 

Lower Costs - In intermodal transportation, the shipping is in containers that do not
require individual handling. Moreover, they easily fit into every mode and are easy to switch making
them useful. This assists in lowering the expenses because the effort to move the shipment from one
to another way is very less. The primary reason why long over-hauls have been considered expensive
is because of the cost of fuel but it is the trains that can help in balancing the spending and easing
the impact. And so,  It is possible to minimize transportation expenses by transporting freight via
intermodal transportation.

Disadvantages:

High Infrastructure Costs:

Intermodal freight transportation also suffers from comparatively high infrastructure costs. This
infrastructure may not exist in all places, particularly in developing countries.

Possibility of Damage

 Shippers risk the possibility of damage as the freight is transferred from one method of
transportation to another.

Lack of Reliability:

As the chain of different modes grows, the possibility of any link in the chain breaking down also
increases. This is particularly problematic when one of the modes of transport is rail; railroads are
more susceptible to delays introduced by bad weather or equipment failure.
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