Automation in intermodal transportation has been associated with improved supply chain, certainty of quality and timely delivery while eliminating unnecessary transportation costs ( Van Riessen, Negenborn, & Dekker 2015 ). The concept of synchro-modality has gained scholarly attention over the recent past in the wake of intermodal transportation. Through the continual gains in technological advancements, transportation, like other industries, is installing technological systems to enhance operational capacity. One such move is the automation of tasks. In addition, automation optimizes available transportation resources and increase safety of freight. However, automation requires massive investment, specialized handling equipment, and advanced information and technology systems to automate the key logistical processes needed for the system to work ( Fanti et al, 2017 ). Intermodal transportation facilities include ports, hub terminals, distribution centers, bulk/trainloads terminals, city terminals, and freight villages. This study seeks to find the correlation between automation at the workplace and the effect of such automation on human resources needs and the consequential economic effects. The paper also seeks to propose probable mitigation measures that can be applied to counter the negative implications. Indeed, while installation of autonomous systems in intermodal logistics in ports has been associated with increases in profits, it has also negatively affected the economy through the reduction in human labor force needs.
Effect of Subjugation of Human Resources by Machines at Ports
Automation means subjugation of human resources by machines. While this may improve efficiency and result in better sales, it negatively affects the requirement for skilled human labor force. In that sense, human resource is reassigned to the little menial work that requires lower skill levels (Van Riessen, Negenborn, & Dekker 2015) . The outcome is downgrading of labor force in the particular industry, which further trickles down and wide to other similar industries. Automation affects consumer purchasing power. When workers are replaced by machines, income from employment ceases, making them unable to procure products of automation. This negatively affects the economy ( Klumpp, 2018 ).
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Educational Susceptibility Due to Automation at Intermodal Ports
It is projected that, for a globally successful intermodal transportation system optimization, advanced transportation education will be required. This education will favor aspects of operation, competition, marketing and financial factors, with rapid evolution in systems development, innovation and equipment technology. Occupations that do not require higher level of educational qualifications are more susceptible to automation compared to those that require at least a bachelor’s degree ( Klumpp, 2018 ). However, only a small percentage of the workforce with at least a university degree holds jobs that have high potential for automation in the near future. For that reason, human resource requirement will develop a shift from basic menial tasks to sophisticated systems operations. Due to societal constraints, the transfer interface from current systems to automated systems will see significant losses in low-level-educated human capital. Given that this class of human capital drives economies of most countries, significant effects will be evident more so in the short term, before the full benefits of total automation can be achieved ( Klumpp, 2018 ).
Effects of Containerization on Human Resources Requirement in Ports
Containerization is a major feat attributed to the development of intermodal transportation, which involves transportation of freight using standardized shipping containers/ IOS containers. With the introduction of containerization, break bulk cargo workforce requirement reduced. The reason was that through containerization, intermodal shipping became cheaper with predictability in pricing, flexibility of loading and unloading in dropped trailer environment that reduced handling costs. Automation in containerization has far-reaching consequences on the human capital since most of the operations are conducted by machines, thus impacting a significant reduction in the human labor requirement in the industry, which directly affects the economy of the country (Van Riessen, Negenborn, & Dekker, 2015) . In intermodal transportation, freight is transported in an intermodal container/ vehicle through multiple means of transportation such as ships, aircraft, rail, truck, without actual handling the freight in modal interchanges or when alternating transportation modes. It should be noted that prior to automation, the interchange between haulage modes provided human resource opportunities in handling the freight and as such, established occupations all over the transportation chain. In absence of the necessity of handling of the freight in intermodal transportation, many employees have lost their livelihood, negatively affecting the economy ( Klumpp, 2018 ).
Capital Requirements of Automation versus On Human Resource Development
Automation requires large capital expenditure that could otherwise be used to develop human resource capacity. Industrial focus on automation will tend to focus less on human resource. Further, industries will tend to direct more funds to research and development, operator training and maintenance costs at the expense of human resource development ( Klumpp, 2018 ). Overall effects of such will be reduction in employment, increased pollution, less versatility and economic uncertainties.
Automation as a Safety Risk to Human Population
While automation can take over hazardous tasks from humans, it can leave us complacent to dangerous effects. This is true for highly automated and autonomous systems since humans are poor backup for automation when such systems fail during operations. Malicious systems can take over, disable, disorganize, or completely disorient operations. This could result into incidences and accidents that definitely affect the human population and the economy at large.
Occupational Susceptibility of Minorities Due to Automation
Underrepresented groups, immigrants, younger generation, unskilled, semi-skilled and under-educated populations are more susceptible to the effects of automation, and will feel the impact most due to automation disruptions ( Sulbaran & Sarder, 2013) . This is because automation targets the operations performed by this group of human resources. Mostly, the level of skill in this group is usually basic, with the more educated and hence skilled work force in managerial and operational positions.
Stress and Constraints on static and dynamic capacity of intermodal facilities
Line haul intermodal connectors gradually develop constraints of the limited static capacity resources of intermodal ports in densely populated areas with time ( Sulbaran & Sarder, 2013) . This is due to the ever-increasing demand for products globally. To accommodate freight moving inter-modally, pressure mounts on the supply chain that may influence players in the intermodal transportation business to seek solutions beyond such ports, mostly to hinterland/ dryland ports, or they might seek to expand their infrastructural capacity. Others will seek to relocate several industries to the already constricted facilities approximately the automated intermodal ports to maximize logistical advantage. A good example is given in ( Sulbaran & Sarder, 2013). For example, Warren County, Virginia has had 11 manufacturing and service companies locating to property adjacent to the Virginia Inland Port, which is an intermodal facility servicing the Port of Virginia. This will directly affect the population near areas of operations, with possibility of relocations. Departure of such populations partly driving the supply chain around the port will affect negatively on the intermodal transportations and will reflect further into the economy. Contrary to this, constraints on physical and financial resources may limit addition of new static capacity, necessitating further automation of systems as a countermeasure. This will further stress the already inversely strained automation-human capital requirement relationship.
Impact on inland and hinterland Transportation
The extent of automation in ports will result in reduced human works force in the inland transportation. In time, with the development of automated intermodal transport on a seaport, customer requirements will spike globally, where the customer will expect more goods delivered safely, in time, regardless of the origin (Bandinelli & Rinaldi, 2016) . The reaction by the industry will be de-constriction of equipment and infrastructural and capacity, which will see new automated systems take over the previously man-operated operations to enhance and satisfy the supply chain capacity. Viable options include increasing dynamic capacity, a factor subject to speed such as through use of automated trucks (Bandinelli & Rinaldi, 2016) . The impact will be reduced human labor requirement.
Recommendations
Automated intermodal transportation facilities located to cater for transportation logistics at transport hubs such as seaports, air or rail terminals will continue handling large volumes of incoming and outgoing freight, despite the reduced requirement in human labor force. While automation has been linked to development of convenient means of transportation, it is also clear that there is negative impact on human resource requirement. Globalization of business, however, will continue affecting the modern world, aided by the new technological advancements. The transportation industry is under justifiable pressure to conform to the ever-increasing consumer demand ( Fanti et al 2017 ). Intermodal transportation will find its way into the future by all means, aiming at door-to-door delivery. Therefore, the society should embrace and incorporate technological growth and development in all aspects, much so by incorporate technological advancements in the educational center for all. It is especially important to increase exposure of minority and underrepresented members of the society to technological advancements since it has been established that they are most susceptible to automations of systems ( Fanti et al 2017 ). It is of paramount importance that systems be drafted and installed that ensures future automation provides a socio-economic platform where all humans can enjoy higher living standards, and which improve the world as a unit.
Conclusion
While automation in intermodal transportation combines the strengths of the different nodes of transportation, attempts at offsetting the weak points of each mode will be jeopardized by the negative impact on the economy due to the reduced requirement of human workforce. As such, future studies should be conducted of the future dynamics of job losses and gains with the advent of technology in the workforce. Focus should be directed at establishing trends of actual job losses, which occupations are most vulnerable to automation, the effect of automation on creativity and social intelligence, against such effects of automation as continual task creation, new interfaces, development of new occupations, and the general effect on living standards of the human race. Further, studies should establish extents to which intermodal facilities catalyze economic growth and development within their localities and the way this relates to the jobs taken over by automation of operations is such facilities.
References
Bandinelli, R., d’Avolio, E., & Rinaldi, R. (2016). Advanced intermodal freight transportation system for sustainable city logistics: An application in fashion industry. WIT Transactions on Engineering Sciences , 113 , 356-363.
Fanti, M. P., Iacobellis, G., Mangini, A. M., Precchiazzi, I., & Ukovich, W. (2017, September). A flexible platform for intermodal transportation and integrated logistics. In 2017 IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI) (pp. 224-229). IEEE.
Klumpp, M. (2018). Automation and artificial intelligence in business logistics systems: human reactions and collaboration requirements. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications , 21 (3), 224-242.
Sulbaran, T., & Sarder, M. D. (2013). Logistical Impact of Intermodal Facilities. In Proceedings of 2013 ASEE Southeastern Section Annual Conference and Meeting (pp. 10-12).
Van Riessen, B., Negenborn, R. R., & Dekker, R. (2015, September). Synchromodal container transportation: An overview of current topics and research opportunities. In International Conference on Computational Logistics (pp. 386-397). Springer, Cham.
