Research Question: How will the existing suggestions for overcoming the challenges influence the future development of the intermodal transportation industry?
Intermodal transportation implies the simultaneous transportation of a set of goods or one product through different means of transport within the same steel container. Intermodal transportation is highly effective in modern trading systems because it supports the faster and safer movement of goods over long distances. In the conditions of globalization, which imply a high level of commodity exchange between countries, intermodal transportation is vital for maintaining economic ties between countries. However, the use of intermodal transportation faces significant challenges in the conditions of the twenty-first century. Firstly, the issue of the negative impact of intermodal transportation on the environment requires significant changes to existing systems to make them more sustainable. Next, intermodal transportation needs clearer scheduling systems due to the uncertainty of natural conditions, which negatively affects the cost of transportation. Furthermore, as more individual buyers order goods from other countries, a large proportion of shipments turn into consolidated cargo, negatively affecting transportation efficiency. This research paper aims to define how the existing suggestions for overcoming the challenges will influence the future development of the intermodal transportation industry. Therefore, the research will conduct a review of existing academic literature on the topic of solutions for overcoming the modern challenges of intermodal transportation. For example, the article written by Wang et al. (2020) proposed integrated scheduling to address the issue of the uncertainty of sea conditions for transportation and reduce the cost of transportation. Next, an article by He and Hans-Dietrich (2019) introduced the concept of sustainable inner-urban intermodal transport, which can be effectively used in the retail industry or postal systems. Therefore, a review of the academic literature on challenges in intermodal transportation can define the direction in which the industry will evolve in the future.
References
He, Z., & Hans-Dietrich, H. (2019). Integration of urban freight innovations: Sustainable inner-urban intermodal transportation in the retail/postal industry. Sustainability, 11(6), 1-25. Web.
Wang, W., Xu, X., Jiang, Y., Xu, Y., Cao, Z., & Liu, S. (2020). Integrated scheduling of intermodal transportation with seaborne arrival uncertainty and carbon emission.Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 88, 1-15. Web.