Intermodal Definition for the Freight Industry presented by Apparel Search |
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Intermodal is a term that refers to more than one mode of transport. For example, passenger stations which provides transfers between buses and trains are described as intermodal. See: Intermodal passenger transport. This article describes intermodal as applied to the transportation of freight in a container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (rail, ocean carrier and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The advantage of using containers is that it reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and loss, and allows freight to be transported faster HistoryPallets made their first major appearance during World War II, when the United States military assembled freight on pallets, allowing fast transfer between warehouses, trucks, trains, ships, and aero planes. Because no freight handling was required, fewer personnel were required and loading times were decreased. Truck trailers were first carried by railway after World War II, an arrangement often called "piggyback". The Canadian Pacific Railway was a pioneer in piggyback transport, becoming the first North American railway to introduce the service in 1952.
While rudimentary freight
containers, then known as
lift vans, were used in
the United States as early
as 1911, it was not until
the 1950s that containers
started to revolutionize
freight transportation.
One pioneering railway was
the
White Pass and Yukon Route,
who acquired the world's
first
container ship, the
Clifford J. Rogers,
built in 1955, and introduced
containers to its railway
in 1956. Starting in the
1960s the use of containers
increased steadily. Standards
for containers were issued
by the
International Organization
for Standardization
(ISO) between 1968 and 1970,
ensuring interchangeability
between different modes
of transportation worldwide.
The containers became known
as ISO containers for this
reason.
In the United States of America, rail intermodal traffic tripled between 1980 and 2002, according to the Association of American Railroads, from 3.1 million trailers and containers to 9.3 million. EquipmentContainers, also known as intermodal containers or as ISO containers because the dimensions have been defined by the ISO, are the main type of equipment used in intermodal transport, particularly when one of the modes of transportation is by ship. Containers are eight feet wide by eight feet six inches high. Their length is usually either 20 feet, 40 feet, or 45 feet, although other lengths exist. They are made out of steel and can be stacked on top of each other. They can be carried by truck, rail, container ship, or aero plane. Some variations on the standard container exist. Open-topped versions covered by a fabric curtain are used to transport larger loads. A container called a tanktainer, consisting of a tank fitted inside a standard container, allows liquids to be carried. Refrigerated containers are used for perishables. There is also the swap body, which is typically used for road and rail transport, as they are built too lightly to be stacked. They have folding legs under their frame so that they can be moved between trucks without using a crane.
Truck trailers
are often
used for
freight
that is
transported
primarily
by road
and rail.
Typically,
regular
trailers
can be used,
and do not
need to
be specially
designed.
When travelling
by rail,
trailers
are transported
on railway
flatcars,
an arrangement
called "piggyback".
A newer method of transporting trailers has been developed by Road-Railer Corporation, which is owned by Norfolk Southern Railway. When the trailers are transported on rail, railway wheel assemblies are placed between the trailers, in effect turning the trailers into one large articulated railway car. This method is faster than carrying trailers on flatcars and requires no extra railway cars, but the trailers need to be specially designed. Vehicles
Container
ships 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 or
FEU. These
initials
stand for "twenty
feet equivalent
unit",
and "forty
feet 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 1,000
FEU or 2,000
TEU.
In North America, containers are often shipped by rail in well cars. These cars resemble flatcars but have a container-sized depression, or well, in the middle of the car. This depression allows for sufficient clearance to allow two containers to be loaded in the car, one on top of the other. In Europe, stricter railway height restrictions prohibit containers from being stacked two high, and containers are hauled one high either on standard flatcars or other rail cars.
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