Rail Intermodal Transport is Taking the Lead

Are you looking for a cost-effective logistical solution to meet your transportation needs? Rail intermodal services offer an environmentally friendly way of moving freight while significantly reducing your transportation spend. An easy shipping solution in which a truck- trailer or shipping container is transported by rail combined with a water or truck movement at one or both ends; typically avoiding highway congestion and reducing your transportation cost.

 According to the Association of American Railroad (AAR) in 2016, rail intermodal accounted for approximately 24 percent of revenue for the major U.S. railroads. We continue to see a significant growth in demand for rail intermodal services not just in the U.S., but also in our neighboring countries such as Canada. Based on the 2017 Canadian Railway’s analysis, the intermodal traffic increased by 20.4 percent during fourth quarter, and 16.4 percent during the full year. Due to the high demand, many carriers, as well as American railroads, are taking the initiatives to be able to fully support their customer’s rail requests.

Mantioulin Transport has taken the necessary steps toward meeting and exceeding Canada’s logistical needs. Their most recent acquisition of Direct Right Catage has proven to be one of their first moves toward supporting the growing demand for the Canadian rail intermodal services. As Canada continues to experience an upward shift in volume for this particular mode, more and more carriers become attracted to the idea of accommodating rail freight, specifically between the west coast and Central Canada.

 As the market for rail intermodal continues to expand, improvements to bridges and tunnels will need to be taken into account, in order to meet the height requirements for double stacking (when containers are stacked two high on railroad cars). We can also expect technological advancements at port terminals to improve the efficiency of loading and offloading these containers.

If you would like to know more about how your company can take advantage of what rail intermodal has to offer, including transport cost savings, freight damage reduction and an eco-friendlier way to ship please contact Allyn International at sales@allynintl.com.

Contributor: Jessica Montoya

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About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.

 

References:

Cassidy, W. B. (2018, January 16). Manitoulin deal helps meet Canadian intermodal demand. Retrieved January 28, 2018, from https://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/truckload-freight/manitoulin-deal-helps-meet-canadian-intermodal-demand_20180116.html

Intermodal . (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2018, from https://www.aar.org/todays-railroads/what-we-haul?t=intermodal