Shipping : What is Multimodal Transport?

What is meant by “multimodal transport” ?

It's a logistical approach that calls for employing the two bare minimum means of transportation in succession (road, sea, river, rail).

Trucks are often only employed in the initial and final miles of a voyage, with the rest being completed by cargo, airplane, or rail.

One further unique feature of multimodal transportation is how the packing unit remains constant. Despite the method of transportation employed, the items are contained in a box and remain stationary the whole time they are being transported.

How can the growth of multimodal transportation be explained?

Over the latest years, multimodal transportation has grown essential for a number of reasons, including:

- The growing separation between the locations of demand and supply : it is currently fairly typical for manufacturing facilities to be situated in nations with cheap cost of production, like China, even when the final consumer lives in Europe or America.

- The development of all containers, which nowadays is among the primary loading units. First ever containers have been created in the 1960s. The container's ability to be loaded into a ship, rail, or truck is a benefit.

Advantages of multimodal transit

There are many advantages to multimodal freight:

- By selecting the most cost-effective option, businesses may significantly lower their transportation expenses. In particular, maritime and train freight are preferred over vast distances since they are highly affordable forms of transportation.

- That's a very safe form of transportation. The danger of accidents, damage, and theft is significantly reduced since the containers are moved without causing no rupture in the weight (the items do not migrate from the container).

- Multimodal transportation is a practical substitute for driving. Multimodal transportation promotes the adoption of less-polluting forms of transportation than vehicles, which helps the logistics industry cut back on CO2 emissions. Intermodal transportation is expected to reduce the volume of vehicles on French roads by one million, the amount of CO2 emitted by one million tons, and the proportion of Pollutant emissions relative to road freight to approximately 85%.

What kinds of goods can be transported?

Almost any kind of product may be carried using many modes, so much it is able to be able to shipped in a container.

In this instance,

• Packaged goods, including furniture, laptops, and home appliances;
• Products in bulk (grain, flour, vegetables, etc.)
• Liquefied gas, milk, and other bulk liquids;
• Goods that must be maintained at a fixed temperature (frozen meals, pharmaceuticals);
• Very large items (industrial machinery, pipelines, specialized gear);
• Or really hefty items (ores, semi-manufactured materials).

How should the best transit combination be chosen?

It's crucial to take into account a number of factors in order to select the ideal mix of transportation options:

• How far must be traveled in total? Rail freight is the greatest option for shorter distances, however sea freight is typically preferred for very large distances.
• What traits do the warehouses where the items arrive and depart have?
• Which are the logistics requirements for the particular items that will be transported?
• Is there a need for transportation?

How is multimodal transportation organized?

Let's say your manufacturing is in Normandy, and you have a supply requirement for the storage that includes all the eastern area.

In this scenario, a shipment will arrive and take up the previously-contained products. He'll deliver it to Le Havre, a river port (road transport). The container will then be loaded onto a barge and sent to Strasbourg from there (river transport). A new driver will pick up the container in Strasbourg and deliver it to your facility.

What function does Transport Express serve? In our capacity as a shipping company, we plan the whole transportation procedure to ensure that the goods are delivered on time!