Dry ports or inland terminals, although not a new theory within the global supply chain, are newer, in a demand wave of intermodal, global transportation as global trade rises. With the increase of global trade taking a toll to the capability of coastal or marine ports, for instance, many US coastal ports, inland terminals shoulder loads of the burden of sea port terminal inbound/outbound transport traffic.

The inland port is interchangeable with hinterland logistics; the ‘hinterland’ being any nation’s interior logistics zones which coastal ports have difficult access. This frees the sea ports to obtain the next boat of inbound freight, as well as railway and expedites truck outbound shipments to these ports.

Three basic demands of inland terminals encompass ‘co location’, a principle of multi-function capacity which cements the inland port’s energy in its integral role for the international supply chain for a dedicated connective part of logistics zones, military bases and maritime terminals.

Success within the effective operations of accurate inland terminals is contingent upon the state and municipality ‘prime directive’; legislative support of inland port development and association of logistics infrastructure incentives. Additionally, a deal seal of approval of investor/stakeholder collaborative port direction ensures the paramount worldwide market effect of any accurate inland port.

Some key elements of these inland terminals are: (see fig. 1)

Figure 1
Inland terminals work as transshipment terminals, satellite terminals and load facilities. Whenever some inland ports are found more than 900 miles off the sea port it services, others are closer in closeness, approximately under 300 miles from the maritime port, running as a cost-efficient satellite-access dry port in the transloading of containers and redirecting of significant sea port visitors. Load center functionality of dry ports comprises use of intermodal logistics infrastructure, regional markets, warehousing and connection to free trade zones. Inland ports function as trans-shipment terminals with the connectivity of intermodal (rail-to-truck) and rail-to-rail freight system’s circulation.