Dry ports or inland terminals, although not a new concept in the global supply chain, are newer, in a demand wave of intermodal, global shipping as global trade rises. With the increase of global trade taking a toll on the capacity of coastal or maritime ports, for instance, many US coastal ports, inland terminals shoulder a lot of the burden of sea port terminal inbound/outbound shipping traffic. The inland port is synonymous with hinterland logistics; the ‘hinterland’ being any country’s interior logistics zones of which coastal ports have challenging access. Inland/dry ports are strategic in connecting logistics zones which incorporate distribution centers, shippers, freight forwarders, trucking companies, container repair facilities and the like, as a throughway for the overage of inbound cargo now stretching the capacity of coastal ports. This frees the sea ports to receive the next vessel of inbound cargo, as well as expedites truck and rail outbound shipments to these ports. Three basic requirements of inland terminals encompass ‘co-location’, a principle of multi-function capability which cements the inland port’s vitality in its integral role to the global supply chain as a dedicated connective component of logistics zones, military bases and maritime terminals. Inland terminals, efficient in their…
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