With the launching of the giant Explorer Class container ship CMA CGM Marco Polo last year and the planned launching of her two sister ships due for 2013, it would seem that the capacity for container shipping would be easily keeping pace with the demand but this may not really be the case. The bulk of containers are carried by mid-sized vessels equipped to handle between 2,500 and 3,000 teus each and it is this sector of the containerized shipping industry that has been the hardest hit by the economic recession of the past decade. In recent years the oversupply of these small to mid-sized vessels has led to a great deal of volatility in shipping costs which has caused many of these smaller shipping companies to operate on very slim margins. At the same time the introduction of ships with larger capacities has contributed to widespread scrapping of the smaller ships which has in turn forced up demand for space on board the larger craft. This has pushed up the price which has discouraged many customers from employing the smaller shipping companies1. It is in Asia that these statistics are having the greatest impact. Because the bulk of freight…
read more »
The development of the new deepwater port at the mouth of the Thames has already made a significant investment in the economy of Britain by creating a huge number of jobs for its construction. The London Gateway will be at the forefront of technological innovation in the intermodal freight network and it is estimated that the port facilities alone will create 12,000 new jobs1 to handle the 3.5 million containers that its capacity will allow. The London Gateway will be Europe’s largest intermodal logistics hub and it is planned to be directly linked to road and rail arteries to make it the most efficient as well. This will ensure that the speed of delivery to market and the reduction of vehicles that travel ’empty miles’ will maximize the benefits of the new facilities2. This efficiency will also spread the benefits of the £3.2 billion in annual income that the new port is expected to earn. This will hopefully also transport the prosperity that is generated by the operation along the same network that it moves cargo. The demand for skilled labor to operate the terminal and other services that support the development have already had a knock on effect by…
read more »
The transport industry is a major consumer of energy and most specifically it burns most of the world’s petroleum. The reliance on fossil fuels, especially in the trucking sector, also makes transport a major contributor of greenhouse gases into the environment. The rising costs of these fuels coupled with the need to improve on the impact that transport is having on the environment have inspired many transport companies to examine greener alternatives. The most obvious improvement that can be made to current transport methods is to move to using fuels with less environmental impact. For the trucking industry this means a shift away from fossil fuels to bio fuels or cleaner natural gas to power their fleets. Many see natural gas as the key to a more sustainable future both environmentally and economically. Natural gas, in the form of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), produces over 25% less carbon emissions than diesel fuels. As one quarter of all of the carbon emissions in the US are generated by the transport industry, these reductions could make a significant improvement in the environment very quickly. Natural gas is also significantly cheaper than diesel and can reduce fuel bills…
read more »
Ever since the last spike was driven into the tracks of the first American transcontinental railway in 1869, the growth of the US economy has been tied to freight transport. The recent development of the intermodal capabilities and the general renovation of America’s rail networks have had a similar rejuvenating influence of the country’s economy. Many analysts have pointed to recent growth in the transport industry as an indicator of a rapidly recovering economy, and with the expected increase in business in the eastern states due to the completion of the Panama Canal in 2015, the future of the economy continues to look very good in the longer term as well. Transport is the fourth largest contributor to the economy behind housing, health care, and food, and it is a major contributor to the employment market with its fiscal influence extending indirectly to all parts of the economy as a whole. The improved efficiency of freight handling that the renovated intermodal networks will bring will keep transport costs down and further encourage growth in employment. This, in turn, is expected to fuel growth in consumer goods that will further increase the demand for transportation services1. Some estimates are projecting that…
read more »
Since the freight transportation network first came under the government spotlight in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act1, the need to diversify the transport network has been a central issue in the development of planning and policy. This legislation, enacted in 1991, spurred the development of a modern intermodal transport network that is intended to increase the efficiency of freight handling practices across the nation. Important parts of the development have dealt with improving traffic flow to and from the major transport hubs with a strong focus on the roads that are used to connect different modes of mass transport, like sea and rail. A greater part of the difficulty for intermodal transport in the past was the lack of direct rail connections to many seaports that forced containers to be sent overland by truck, often over roads that were unsuited to the increased size and volume of the traffic2. The issues with the roadways are largely being addressed by the individual states with the introduction of fast transport corridors and improvements to the freeway system that connects the major seaports in the United States. The expected boom in freight handling along the Eastern seaboard has also seen extensive investment…
read more »
One of the major goals of the unification of the European economic zone has been the improvement and standardization of the intermodal transport network that services Europe and Britain. The European Commission has been developing the transportation networks in parallel with upgrades to other networks such as telecommunications1 and as these various projects approach their completion, they are already having an impact on the intermodal freight industries across Europe. These improvements have linked the twelve major ports in Europe with an efficient network of transport options that rely heavily on the use of the renovated and modernized trans-European rail network2. At the same time, the canals and waterways that access central Europe have been modernized to become an integral part of the intermodal network in an effort to take the pressure off of Europe’s road network. These highways have also been upgraded to make them more efficient transport arteries and this is inspiring some large transport companies to adapt their own operations to take advantage of the improvements. European transport giant ModusLink Global Solutions recently announced plans to move much of its operations to a site that is has better access to the newly refurbished and upgraded transport infrastructure3. The…
read more »
The entire intermodal freight network in North America has been going through a period of restructuring in the past decade that has seen and will continue to see sweeping changes in the way that goods are transported across the continent. Other factors like rising fuel prices are forcing many transport companies to look for the most efficient way to transport goods. There has been significant development of the freight handling facilities along America’s Eastern seaboard in preparation for the increased flow of goods that is expected to result from the completion of the Panama Canal improvements in 2015. To complement this infrastructure development there has been a corresponding investment in the rail networks across the United States which is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the freight transport network. This development is certain to be a catalyst that changes current freight transport practices as rail transport expands into many of the traditional areas of road transport. These changes mean that there will be some companies which are set to benefit from the new demand for intermodal services but there will also be many losers who can no longer compete using their existing methods. For the most part the companies that…
read more »
The Panama Canal is one of the world’s busiest waterways, handling an estimated 5% of the world’s freight every year1. Since its completion in 1915 there have been some minor efforts to improve the 48 mile long canal. These have been restricted to efforts prior to WWII of building a few new locks to allow the canal to handle larger warships and the construction of the Madden Dam to increase the water supply to the canal2. Currently the Panama Canal is having the largest overhaul that it has seen since it was opened, with the widening of the canal to accommodate many of the larger ships traveling the seaways now. The entrances to the canal are being improved as well with the construction of several new locks at both the Atlantic and Pacific ends. The most important aspect of these improvements is that it will open a new lane and double the capacity of the canal by 20253. One of the major impacts that this increased capacity is expected to have is that it will create an increased demand for warehousing of cargo that has passed through the Panama Canal along the Gulf Coast and the eastern seaboard of the US. This expected increase in traffic has seen capital investment being poured…
read more »
With forecasts of significant growth in the quantity of goods that will be transported in the coming years it is vital that the intermodal freight networks continue to be developed and upgraded in order to be able to accommodate that increase. After enduring a period of decline the American rail network has seen a return to relevance in recent years as the road transport that had largely displaced rail became much more expensive. This focus on efficiency in freight transport has inspired redevelopment and expansion of the American rail networks as the cost effectiveness of rail freight continues to surpass trucking costs. This development of the American rail networks and freight handling facilities is being backed by an investment of $24.5 billion in the rail networks by the nation’s major freightrailroad companies. Of this, $13 billion is earmarked for capital expenditure to be used for the enhancement of their physical infrastructure and safety systems1 that is necessary to keep pace with the increased capacity being demanded of the system. This expenditure is being used in part to create more intermodal freight terminals to facilitate an ever greater efficiency of train to truck transfers. There are also significant investments being made by many companies in new rolling stock with the aim…
read more »
As freight transportation has become more complex it has become less common for cargo to be shipped from point to point and often loads are using several intermodal methods in one journey. While the cost effectiveness of shipping and rail networks has continued to improve, the cost of using trucks for transport has spiraled upwards. Rising fuel costs and increased awareness of the need for greater regulation of the trucking industry have seen road transport become the focus of calls for greater efficiency in our use of trucks to transport goods. There is a growing need to find the most efficient ways to transport goods from place to place since the volume of cargo that is shipped expected to rise by as much as 130% by 2030 in many places1. Part of the solution to these rising volumes of cargo has been to increase the size of the trucks that transport it. However, this is becoming increasingly impractical as many urban areas restrict their entry. At the same time trucks will remain a vital part of the transport chain and the focus of most studies has been to find the best way to use those trucks within the larger context of the intermodal shipping networks2. It is conceded that the rail…
read more »
