ABSTRACT

A great deal of change has taken place in transportation since unitized shipping was introduced in the 1950s. The first intermodal container service began in 1956, and it grew to become the dominant mode of ocean transport within the next 25 years. Intermodal trailer on flat car service (TOFe), grew steadily in the 1960s to become a major rail shipping mode in the United States. Trailers and semitrailers were used primarily for shorter hauls in the 1950s, but with the completion of the National Highway System, along with the growth of the TOFe intermodal system, trailers have become a common mode for unitized shipping.