Intermodal freight transport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

in an intermodal container

Intermodal container

An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

or vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

, using multiple modes of transportation (rail

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

, ship

Ship

Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...

, and truck

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

), without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and losses, and allows freight to be transported faster. Reduced costs over road trucking is the key benefit for intracontinental use. This may be offset by reduced timings for road transport over shorter distances.

Origins

Intermodal transportation goes back to the 18th century and predates the railways. Some of the earliest containers were those used for shipping coal on the Bridgewater Canal

Bridgewater Canal

The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...

in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

in the 1780s. Coal containers (called "loose boxes" or "tubs") were soon deployed on the early canals and railways and were used for road/rail transfers (road at the time meaning horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

drawn vehicles).

Wooden coal containers used on railways go back to the 1830s on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1841 Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...

introduced iron containers to move coal from the vale of Neath

Neath

Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...

to Swansea Docks

Swansea docks

Swansea Docks is the collective name for several docks in Swansea, Wales. The Swansea docks are located immediately south east of Swansea city centre. In the mid-19th century the port was exporting 60% of the world's copper from factories situated in the Tawe valley...

. By the outbreak of the First World War the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

was using wooden containers to trans-ship passenger luggage between trains and sailings via the port of Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

.

The early 1900s saw the first adoption of covered containers, primarily for the movement of furniture and intermodal freight between road and rail. A lack of standards limited the value of this service and this in turn drove standardisation. In the U.S. such containers, known as "lift vans', were in use from as early as 1911.

Early containers

In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

containers were first standardised by the Railway Clearing House

Railway Clearing House

The British Railway Clearing House was an organisation set up to manage the allocation of revenue collected by numerous pre-grouping railway companies...

(RCH) in the 1920s, allowing both railway owned and privately owned vehicles to be carried on standard container flats. By modern standards these containers were small, being 1.5 or 3.0 meters long (5 or 10 ft), normally wooden and with a curved roof and insufficient strength for stacking. From 1928 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

offered "door to door" intermodal road-rail services using these containers. This standard failed to become popular outside the United Kingdom.

Pallet

Pallet

A pallet , sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies...

s made their first major appearance during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, when the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

military assembled freight on pallets, allowing fast transfer between warehouse

Warehouse

A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...

s, trucks, trains, ship

Ship

s, and aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

. Because no freight handling was required, fewer personnel were required and loading times were decreased.

Truck trailers

Trailer (vehicle)

A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....

were first carried by railway before World War II, an arrangement often called "piggyback", by the small Class I railroad

Class I railroad

A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...

, the Chicago Great Western in 1936. The Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

was a pioneer in piggyback transport, becoming the first major North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n railway to introduce the service in 1952. In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

the big four railway companies offered services using standard RCH containers that could be craned on and off the
back of trucks. Moving companies such as Pickfords

Pickfords

Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of the Moving Services Group UK Ltd.The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies. The earliest record is of a William Pickford, a carrier who worked south of...

offered private services in the same way.

Containerization

In the 1950s a new standardized steel Intermodal container

Intermodal container

based on specifications from the United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

began to revolutionize freight transportation. The International Organization for Standardization

International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...

(ISO) then issued standards based upon the U.S. Department of Defense standards between 1968 and 1970.

The White Pass and Yukon Route

White Pass and Yukon Route

The White Pass and Yukon Route is a Canadian and U.S. Class II narrow gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railroad. Equipment, freight and passengers are ferried by ship through the...

railway acquired the world's first container ship

Container ship

Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

, the Clifford J. Rogers, built in 1955, and introduced containers to its railway in 1956. In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

the modernisation plan and in turn the Beeching Report strongly pushed containerization. The British Railways freightliner service was launched carrying 8 feet (2.4 m) high pre-ISO containers. The older wooden containers and the pre-ISO containers were rapidly replaced by 10 feet (3 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m) ISO standard containers, and later by 40 feet (12.2 m) containers and larger.

In the U.S., starting in the 1960s the use of containers increased steadily. Rail intermodal traffic tripled between 1980 and 2002, according to the Association of American Railroads

Association of American Railroads

The Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...

(AAR), from 3.1 million trailers and containers to 9.3 million. Large investments were made in intermodal freight projects. An example was the USD $740,000,000 Port of Oakland

Port of Oakland

The Port of Oakland was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. It is now the fifth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newark, and Savannah...

intermodal rail facility begun in the late 1980s.

Since 1984, a mechanism for intermodal shipping known as double-stack rail transport

Double-stack rail transport

Double-stack rail transport is a form of Intermodal freight transport where intermodal containers are stacked two high on railroad cars. Introduced in North America in 1984, double stack has become increasingly common, being used for nearly 70% of United States intermodal shipments...

has become increasingly common. Rising to the rate of nearly 70% of United States intermodal shipments, it transports more than one million containers per year. The double-stack rail cars design significantly reduces damage in transit and provides greater cargo security by cradling the lower containers so their doors cannot be opened. A succession of large, new domestic container sizes was introduced to increase shipping productivity. In Europe the more restricted loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

has limited the adoption of double-stack cars. However, in 2007 the Betuweroute

Betuweroute

The Betuweroute is a double track freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which it passes, but the line is popularly referred to as Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The Germans have named their part the...

was completed, a railway from Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

to the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

industrial heartland, which may accommodate double stacked containers in the future. Other countries, like New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, have numerous low tunnels and bridges that limit expansion for economic reasons.

Since electrification generally predated double stacking, the overhead wiring was too low to accommodate it. However, India is building some freight only corridors with the overhead wiring at above rail, which is high enough.

Containers and container handling

Containers, also known as intermodal containers or ISO containers because the dimensions have been defined by ISO, are the main type of equipment used in intermodal transport, particularly when one of the modes of transportation is by ship. Containers are 8 feet (2.4 m) wide by 8 feet (2.4 m) high. Since introduction, there have been moves to adopt other heights, such as 8 in 6 in (2.59 m), 9 in 6 in (2.9 m) and 10 in 6 in (3.2 m). The most common lengths are 20 feet (6.1 m) nominal or 19 feet (5.8 m) - 10+1/2 in actual, 40 feet (12.2 m), 48 feet (14.6 m) and 53 feet (16.2 m), although other lengths exist. In countries where the railway loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

is sufficient, truck

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

trailers are often used. Variations exist, including open-topped versions covered by a fabric curtain are used to transport larger loads. A container called a tanktainer, with a tank inside a standard container frame, carries liquids. Refrigerated containers are used for perishables.

Handling equipment can be designed with intermodality in mind, assisting with transferring containers between rail, road and sea. These can include:

Transtainers for transferring containers from sea-going vessels onto either trucks or rail wagons. A transtainer is mounted on rails with a large boom spanning the distance between the ship's cargo hold and the quay, moving parallel to the ship's side.
Gantry crane
Gantry crane
Gantry cranes, bridge cranes, and overhead cranes, are all types of cranes which lift objects by a hoist which is fitted in a hoist trolley and can move horizontally on a rail or pair of rails fitted under a beam...

s, also known as straddle carrier
Straddle carrier
A straddle carrier is a non road going vehicle for use in port terminals and intermodal yards used for stacking and moving ISO standard containers. Straddles pick and carry containers while straddling their load and connecting to the top lifting points via a container spreader. These machines have...

s, are able to straddle rail and road vehicles, allowing for quick transfer of containers. A spreader beam moves in several directions allowing accurate positioning of the cargo.
Grappler lift, which is very similar to a straddle carrier.
Reach stacker
Reach Stacker
A Reach Stacker is one of the most flexible handling solutions whether to operate a small terminal or a medium sized port.Reach stackers are able to transport a container in short distances very quickly and pile them in various rows depending on its access....

s are fitted with lifting arms as well as spreader beams and lift containers to swap bodies or stack containers on top of each other.
Swap body
Swap body
A swap body is a standard freight container for road and rail transport.Basic standardization is set with Euronorms EN 283, EN 284 and EN 452 for construction and design, as well as EN 13044 for marking and identification. The panel responsible for developing standards is CEN/TC 119...

units are not strong enough to be stacked, but they have folding legs under their frame but they can be moved between trucks without using a crane.

Container ships

Container ship

s are used to transport containers by sea. These vessels are custom-built to hold containers. Some vessels can hold thousands of containers. Their capacity is often measured in TEU

Twenty-foot equivalent unit

The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...

or FEU. These initials stand for "twenty-foot equivalent unit

Twenty-foot equivalent unit

The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...

," and "forty-foot equivalent unit," respectively. For example, a vessel that can hold 1,000 40-foot containers or 2,000 20-foot containers can be said to have a capacity of . After the year 2006, the largest container ships

Emma Mærsk

Emma Mærsk is the first container ship in the E-class of eight owned by the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group. When she was launched in 2006, Emma Mærsk was the largest container ship ever built...

in regular operation are capable of carrying in excess of .

Onboard ships they are typically stacked up to seven units high.

A key consideration in the size of container ships is that larger ships exceed the capacity of important sea routes such as the Panama and Suez canals. The largest size of container ship able to traverse the Panama canal is referred to as Panamax

Panamax

Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...

, which is presently around . A third set of locks is planned as part of the Panama Canal expansion project to accommodate container ships up to in future, comparable to the present Suezmax

Suezmax

Suezmax is a naval architecture term for the largest ship measurements capable of transiting the Suez Canal, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. Since the canal has no locks, the only serious limiting factors are draft , and height due to the Suez Canal Bridge...

.

As of June 2011 it costs around $5000 to ship a container from China to the US with oil at $100USD/bbl. As the price of oil increases, shipping costs increase.

Very large container ships also require specialized deep water terminals and handling facilities. The container fleet available, route constraints, and terminal capacity play a large role in shaping global container shipment logistics.

Railways

In North America, containers are often shipped by rail in container

Intermodal container

well cars. These cars resemble flatcars but the newer ones have a container-sized depression, or well, in the middle (between the bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

s or "trucks") of the car. This depression allows for sufficient clearance to allow two containers to be loaded in the car in a "double stack" arrangement. The newer container cars also are specifically built as a small articulated "unit", most commonly in components of three or five, whereby two components are connected by a single bogie as opposed to two bogies, one on each car. (The photo above under "Equipment" shows an example of the new setup.) Double stacking is also used in parts of Australia. On some older railways, particularly in the United Kingdom, the use of well cars is necessary to carry single stacked large containers within the loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

.

It is also common in North America to transport semi-trailer

Semi-trailer

A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. A large proportion of its weight is supported by a road tractor, a detachable front axle assembly known as a dolly, or the tail of another trailer...

s on railway flatcar

Flatcar

A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...

s or spine cars, an arrangement called "piggyback" or TOFC (trailer on flatcar) to distinguish it from container on flatcar (COFC). Some flatcars are designed with collapsable trailer hitches so they can be used for trailer or container service. Such designs allow trailers to be rolled on from one end, though lifting trailers on and off flatcars by specialized loaders is more common. TOFC terminals typically have large areas for storing trailers pending loading or pickup.

If the rail line has been built with sufficient vertical clearance then Double-stack rail transport

Double-stack rail transport

can be used. Where lines are electrified with overhead electric wiring

Overhead lines

Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...

double stacking is normally not possible. The mandatory requirement to fit under overhead wire for the traction engine electrical power supply sets the height limit for the railcars to allow for trailer transport. This requires a certain low building height which led to a minor size of wheels for the railcars. Hence increased degradation of bogeys by wheel wear-out is a cost disadvantage for the system.

Trailers with cargo containers are not subject of such transportation. When carried by rail, containers can be loaded on flatcar

Flatcar

s or in container well cars. In Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, stricter railway height restrictions (smaller loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

and structure gauge

Structure gauge

The structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is the minimum height and width of tunnels and bridges as well as the minimum height and width of the doors that allow a rail siding access into a warehouse...

) and overhead electrification

Electrification

Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...

prevent containers from being stacked two high, and containers are hauled one high either on standard flatcars or other railroad car

Railroad car

A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

s. Taller containers are often carried in well cars (not stacked) on older European railway routes where the loading gauge (especially with the reduced gauge for UK lines) is particularly small.

Narrow gauge railways of gauge have smaller wagons that do not readily carry ISO containers, nor do the 30 feet (9.14 m) long and 7 feet (2.13 m) wide wagons of the gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway

Kalka-Shimla Railway

The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a narrow gauge railway in North-West India travelling along a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for breathtaking views of the hills and surrounding villages.- History :...

. Wider narrow gauge railways of e.g. and gauge can take ISO containers, provided that the loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

allows it.

Trucks

Trucking

Truck driver

A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...

is frequently used to connect the "linehaul" ocean and rail segments of a global intermodal freight movement. This specialized trucking that runs between ocean ports, rail terminals, and inland shipping docks, is often called drayage

Drayage

In the shipping industry and logistics, drayage is the transport of goods a short distance, often as part of a longer overall move. A drayage trip can typically be completed in a single work shift. The term drayage is also used for the fee paid for such services.The term originally meant "to...

, and is typically provided by dedicated drayage companies or by the railroads.

Barges

Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...

s utilising ro-ro and container-stacking techniques transport freight on large inland waterways such as the Rhine/Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

in Europe and the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

in the U.S.

Landbridges

The term landbridge or land bridge is commonly used in the intermodal freight transport sector in reference to a containerized ocean freight shipment that travels across a large body of land for a significant part of the trip, en-route to its final destination; Of which the land portion of the trip is referred to as the "landbridge" and the mode of transport

Mode of transport

Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish substantially different ways to perform transport. The most dominant modes of transport are aviation, land transport, which includes rail, road and off-road transport, and ship transport...

used is rail transport

Rail transport

. There are three applications for the term.

Land bridge - An intermodal container
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

shipped by ocean vessel from country A to country B, land bridges across an entire body of land/country/continent, en-route. For example, a container shipment from China to Germany, is loaded onto a ship in China, unloads at a Los Angeles (California) port and travels via rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

to a New York (New York) port, and loads on a ship for Hamburg.
Mini Land bridge - An intermodal container
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

shipped by ocean vessel from country A to country B, passes across a large portion of land in either country A or B. For example, a container shipment from China to New York (New York), is loaded onto a ship in China, unloads at a Los Angeles (California) port and travels via rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

to New York (New York), the final destination.
Micro Land bridge - An intermodal container
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

shipped by ocean vessel from country A to country B, passes across a large portion of land to reach an interior inland destination. For example, a container shipment from China to Denver (Colorado), is loaded onto a ship in China, unloads at a Los Angeles (California) port and travels via rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

to Denver (Colorado), the final destination.

The term reverse landbridge refers to a micro land bridge from an east coast port (as opposed to a west coast port in the previous examples) to an inland destination.

Load Securing in Intermodal Containers

According to the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

Transportation Department “it has been estimated that up to 25% of accidents involving trucks can be attributable to inadequate cargo securing”. Cargo

Cargo

that is improperly secured can cause severe accidents and lead to the loss of cargo, the loss of lives, the loss of vehicles, ships and airplane; not to mention the environmental hazards it can cause.
There are many different ways and materials available to stabilize and secure cargo in containers used in the various modes of transportation. Conventional Load Securing

Load securing

thumb|Cargo damage because of improperly secured cargoLoad securing, also known as cargo securing, is the securing of cargo for transportation. According to the European Commission Transportation Department “it has been estimated that up to 25% of accidents involving trucks can be attributable to...

methods and materials such as steel banding and wood blocking & bracing have been around for decades and are still widely used. In the last few years the use of several, relatively new and unknown Load Securing

Load securing

methods have become available through innovation and technological advancement including polyester strapping and -lashing, synthetic webbings and Dunnage Bags, also known as air bags.

Biggest ISO container companies

Top 20 container shipping companies in order of TEU capacity, 23 Jan 2011
Company	TEU capacity	Number of ships
A.P. Moller-Maersk Group A.P. Moller-Maersk Group A.P. Moller – Maersk Group , also known as Maersk , is a Danish business conglomerate. A.P. Moller – Maersk Group has activities in a variety of business sectors, primarily within the transportation and energy sectors. It is the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the...	2,150,888	545
Mediterranean Shipping Company	1,638,962	414
CMA CGM CMA CGM CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company, headed by Jacques Saadé. It is the third largest container company in the world, using 200 shipping routes between 400 ports in 150 different countries...	1,100,007	384
American President Lines American President Lines American President Lines Ltd. is the world's seventh-largest container transportation and shipping company, providing services to more than 140 countries through a network combining intermodal freight transport operations with IT and e-commerce...	589,879	147
Evergreen Marine Corporation	554,725	152
Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, which in turn owns other subsidiaries such as Hapag-Lloyd Ships and a cruise line, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises which is now integrated into TUI AG, Hanover...	541,811	124
COSCO COSCO China Ocean Shipping Company, known as COSCO or COSCO Group, is one of the largest liner shipping companies worldwide. It is a government owned company of the People's Republic of China...	498,437	134
CSAV CSAV CSAV is a Chilean shipping company that is currently the largest company of its type in Latin America and is one of the oldest shipping companies, having being founded in 1872...	469,428	128
Hanjin Shipping Hanjin Shipping Hanjin Shipping, Global Shipping & Logistics CompanyHanjin Shipping is Korea's largest and one of the world’s top ten container carriers that operates some 60 liner and tramper services around the globe transporting over 100 million tons of cargo annually...	448,051	98
China Shipping Container Lines China Shipping Container Lines China Shipping Container Lines , a division of China Shipping Group , is a containerized marine shipping company, based in Shanghai, China....	440,236	122
NYK Line	365,034	95
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is a Japanese transport company headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo. The company's main area of operations is international shipping. Its alligator logo can be seen on containers in ports around the world....	363,188	94
Orient Overseas Container Line Orient Overseas Container Line Orient Overseas Container Line is a Hong Kong-based container shipping and logistics service company.OOCL is one of the world's largest shipping and logistics companies with more than 280 offices in 55 countries around the world, providing 78 services covering international trading markets with a...	353,338	77
Hamburg Süd Hamburg Süd Hamburg Süd is one of the key carriers on the North-South trade routes by ocean transportation. It is part of the Oetker Group, a family-owned German conglomerate.-History:...	338,778	109
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Zim Integrated Shipping Services Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. , formerly ZIM Israel Navigation Company Ltd. and Zim American Israeli Shipping Inc., is the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel, and 10th largest in the world...	322,685	96
K Line K Line , also referred to as "K" Line, is a very large Japanese shipping company. It owns and/or controls large cargo ships, including dry cargo ships, container ships, container terminals, gas carriers, RoRo ships and tankers....	318,193	82
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation	313,379	77
Hyundai Merchant Marine Hyundai Merchant Marine Hyundai Merchant Marine is a South Korean logistics company providing worldwide container shipping services. It was established in 1976 as Asia Merchant Marine...	271,604	52
Pacific International Lines Pacific International Lines Pacific International Lines is a shipping company incorporated in 1967 and operates out of Singapore. It is one of the largest shipowners in Asia....	227,649	126
UASC	199,082	50

External links

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Origins

Early containers

Containerization

Containers and container handling

Container ships

Railways

Trucks

Barges

Landbridges

Load Securing in Intermodal Containers

Biggest ISO container companies

See also

External links