Introduction
Transport companies are increasingly using intermodal freight transport due to its operational efficacy and the cost reduction that comes with it (Rietveld & Stough, 2014) . It mainly entails the transportation of containerized goods which eases the movement without direct handling of the goods being transported. There are various types of intermodal transportation which include sea-truck intermodal, sea-rail intermodal, truck-rail intermodal, air-truck intermodal and barge-truck intermodal (Macharis et al., 2014) . Sea-truck intermodal involves the transport of freight using trucks and ocean-going vessels. Sea-rail intermodal involves the transport of goods between oceangoing vessels and rail vessels (Levinson, 2016) . Truck-rail, on the other hand, involves the transfer of freight between trucks and flat railroad cars. Air-truck modal involves the use of air modes and trucks while barge-truck involves the transfer of goods from trucks to barges instead of using cranes (Zijm et al., 2016) . The transfer of goods between the modes is facilitated by intermodal terminals which include port terminals like container sea terminals, intermediate hub terminals and barge terminals (Fahimnia et al., 2015) . Rail intermediaries include on-dock and near-dock rail facilities, satellite terminals and load centers and other intermediate facilities like trans-loading facilities and warehouses.
The Intermodal Transportation and Environmental Sustainability
Statistics from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that the transport sector is the second largest contributor to carbon emissions accounting for 28% of total carbon dioxide emissions (Fahimnia et al., 2015). They further reiterate that the carbon emissions contribute greatly to the greenhouse effect which leads to depletion of the ozone layer resulting in global warming putting plant, animal, and human life at a high risk (Macharis et al., 2014). The greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen protoxidize, and Nitrous Oxide and fluorinated gasses. The transport sector largely contributes to the environmental pollution because the energy used to power cars, ships, trains, and planes is petroleum based including jet fuel, gasoline, and diesel which are pollutants (Browning, 2016). The result of the environmental pollution is h arsh environmental conditions, global warming, and depletion of the ozone layer factors that endanger human, plant and animal life if not controlled (Zijm et al., 2016). The transport sector affects the environment negatively through air pollution, contributing to climate change, destruction of ecological systems, and noise pollution (Tavasszy & Jong, 2014). The endangerment of life from the pollution calls for sustainable business practices across all industries and as such, green transportation is critical not only for business but also for environmental conservation.
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The transport sector has undertaken practices to streamline their logistics and shipping operations with the aim of minimizing the emission of the greenhouse gases into the environment (Levinson, 2016). The use of intermodal transportation is one way of reducing fuel usage and the activity of the transport vessels as a way of attaining sustainability and achieving environmental conservation at the same time (Palocz-Andresen, 2013). Through the combination of the different modes of transport, the intermodal transport system is critical in ensuring environmental sustainability, cost effectiveness and the reduction of the emission of the greenhouse gases into the environment (Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2015)]. To reduce the impact of transport on air pollution the intermodal system reduces the usage of road transport by incorporating the use of rail and air transport. The more the number of trucks on the road, the higher the miles traveled which in turn translates to more gaseous emissions into the atmosphere (Fahimnia et al., 2015). The intermodal transportation, therefore, reduces the air pollution by decongesting the roads thereby reducing traffic jams, lessen the number of trucks on the road and speeding up the traffic on roads which in the long term reduces the use of fuel.
Statistics from the Department of Transport show that water transport reduces the carbon footprint of the transport industry by far because ships carry more weight at once compared to other modes of transport which reduce fuel usage (Monios & Bergqvist, 2016) . Rail transport is also considered more efficient compared to road transport while air transport is the biggest contributor of carbon and Sulfur Dioxide pollution of all the three modes of transport (Rietveld & Stough, 2014) . Putting these facts into consideration, the containerization process in the intermodal transportation facilitates the alternation of the different modes of transport thereby reducing the carbon emissions (Palocz-Andresen, 2013) . Statistics further show that rail transport leads to the emission of approximately 5.4 pounds of carbon dioxide per 100 ton-miles which is below the 19.8 pounds carbon emissions from road transport (Browning, 2016). The intermodal freight transportation through trains, therefore, cuts the carbon emissions by more than hand compared to unimodal transport using just trucks hence the environmental friendliness.
The intermodal transportation is also environmentally friendly because it reduces the use of fuel in the transportation processes (Levinson, 2016). Trains are four times more efficient in fuel usage compared to trucks since they carry many containers all at once amounting to 280 truck loads all at once which would have been carried by several trucks over the road leading to more fuel usage and more environmental pollution (Zijm et al., 2016). Trains also have a set route and don't experience traffic jams and congestion, unlike trucks which in turn reduces fuel usage which would have been wasted in slow moving traffic (Rietveld & Stough, 2014). Trains’ Efficient use of fuel reduces the carbon footprint from the transportation process unlike in unimodal transport using only air and road (Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2015). Ships also have a high carriage capacity and use far less fuel compared to planes which lead to fuel savings and energy efficiency which in turn reduces environmental pollution. A gallon of diesel in a train runs for approximately 400 miles while the same amount of diesel goes for approximately 90 miles (Levinson, 2016). The incorporation of the different modes of transport, therefore, reduces the fuel usage and the less fuel used, the smaller the emission levels and the lesser the environmental pollution therefore making the intermodal transport environmentally friendly.
Intermodal transport also reduces noise pollution by decongesting the roads and incorporating air and water transport (Monios & Bergqvist, 2016). Unlike trucks which cause traffic leading to the blaring of horns and screeching on the roads or trains that make noise on the tracks, air and water modes are less noisy (Palocz-Andresen, 2013). The intermodal system reduces the amount of noise while also taking the environmental risks that come with transport away from people’s lives (Browning, 2016). It reduces risks of spillage of toxic and combustible freight on people and also reduces the disruption to people's lives caused by unimodal transport methods. It, therefore, reduces noise pollution and environmental risks posed by the traditional unimodal transport systems (Fahimnia et al., 2015). Through the exchange of freights in intervals, it reduces exhaustion by drivers thereby reducing chances of environmental risks caused by fatigue of long distance travel by truck drivers.
However, despite the effects of intermodal transport on environmental conservation, it still does not completely offer a long-term solution to the environmental pollution problem (Zijm et al., 2016). It still uses fuel which is a pollutant to the environment and does not offer an alternative source of energy to power the trucks, ships, trains and planes used in the transportation process (Tavasszy & Jong, 2014). Unless an alternative source of energy is discovered, the effect of petroleum-based fuels persists although the intermodal system reduces their prevalence (Rietveld & Stough, 2014). Therefore, as much as the intermodal system reduces the carbon footprint, reduces air pollution and increases fuel efficiency, it still contributes to environmental pollution. The diversion of traffic from the roads to the sea only transfers pollution from land to the water bodies and endangers the sea life which has as much right to a pollution-free environment as the human population (Macharis et al., 2014). In a nutshell, therefore, intermodal transport is environmentally friendly by reducing toxic emissions on land by transferring the effect to the water transport channels.
The Challenges Facing Shippers, Operators, and Governments when Looking to Increase the Amount of Freight Transported Via Intermodal Transport
Profit maximization is the objective of all businesses and the stakeholders in the transportation business maximize their profits through cost efficiency using intermodal transport (Browning, 2016). Shippers, operators, and governments are the main stakeholders in the business of carriage and in their profit maximization and regulation of business activities they are faced with various challenges (Rietveld & Stough, 2014). The intermodal transport limits the increment of the amount of freight transported due to its reduced speeds compared to the unimodal transport systems. The slow movement of goods causes delays and increases redundancy of shippers and operators in the shipping process (Fahimnia et al., 2015). The slow movement keeps them waiting for the slow moving goods instead of utilizing the time handling new cargoes. The slow movement of goods, therefore, limits the increment of the amount of freight transported by intermodal transport since it reduces the capacity of the vessels to carry more goods (Macharis et al., 2014). The slowness in the process is caused by poor coordination, infrequencies in the vessels timetables and indirect routing. Even if the capacity of the freight were to be increased, there would be no ships to carry the extra goods since the available ones are delayed in the transportation process.
The multiple handling of goods in the intermodal process when transferring them from one vessel to the next presents the challenge of breakage and damage of the freight and liability issues for the shippers and operators (Fahimnia et al., 2015). Since the containerized goods in the intermodal system are moved severally, the shippers and operators handling them have to be extra careful. The moving process is labor intensive and involves the employment of more workers to handle the transfer process (Monios & Bergqvist, 2016). The complexity of the transfer process makes it difficult to increase the number of goods transported because it would need additional staff which would further increase the transportation cost (Palocz-Andresen, 2013). Unlike in the unimodal transport where goods are not moved constantly, the intermodal transportation increases the work of operators and shippers, and in case of breakage in the process of carriage, they are held liable (Tavasszy & Jong, 2014). The need to avoid lawsuits and the time spent moving containers, therefore, limits the capacity to increase the number of goods transported.
The inadequacy of the intermodal transport vessels to accommodate larger volumes of goods is also a challenge facing the shippers and operators (Macharis et al., 2014). Sometimes there is wastage of space when the capacity of different vessels in the intermodal transport system does not match (Zijm et al., 2016). The need for larger storage space in the warehouses and the intermediate storages also limit the increment of freight in the intermodal transport process. Unlike in the intermodal process where goods are transported using just one vessel, the intermodal process requires a bigger storage capacity. Therefore, to increase the amount of freight, the intermediate storage capacities have to be expanded a venture that requires high capital investment (Levinson, 2016). The capital requirements and the inadequacy of existent storage facilities, therefore, act as a challenge to cargo increment efforts.
The government is faced with the challenge of high capital required to expand and accommodate the increasing transport network systems that come with the increased freight capacity (Tavasszy & Jong, 2014). To facilitate the movement of goods over rail, road, air or water the government is required to avail transport infrastructure to support the transportation of the increased goods (Macharis et al., 2014). There is also the challenge of limited public land on which the infrastructure is built. An increment in the capacity of goods transferred requires higher infrastructural development which the government is not able to implement due to high budgetary requirements and limited resources like land to build on (Fahimnia et al., 2015). An increase in the freight capacity also means increased government revenue but also leads to increased carbon emissions into the environment. The government is faced with the challenge of limiting carbon emissions since an increase in capacity would mean exceeding the current carbon footprint limits (Browning, 2016). The government is therefore faced with the challenges of cost, carbon emissions and infrastructural expansion challenges that come with increased freight capacity.
Conclusion
In sum, the intermodal transport system is impactful in the reduction of the environmental impact made by the transport sector. It reduces congestion on the roads, reduces fuel consumption and increases fuel efficiency in the transportation process. The result is reduced emission of carbon and [particulate articles which reduce the impacts of these gases and chemicals on the environment. However, it does not solve the carbon emission problem since the vessels still use petroleum based fuels and just largely transfers the pollution from the roads to the water bodies. The challenges faced in freight expansion process include high costs of expansion to the government and operators, limited storage facilities and infrastructure and limited human resources to handle the increment of the cargo capacity.
References
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