ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the logistics requirements for modal shift to intermodal transport. Intermodal transport is naturally suited to certain types of flows, based on product and route characteristics and supply chain decisions such as inventory management and storage location. These decisions and strategies are exemplified based on two examples. The first is of UK retailers using intermodal transport for secondary distribution from centralised national distribution centres (NDCs) to local distribution centres (DCs) and then to stores, and the second is of shipper-forwarder vertical integration in Sweden. The chapter also discusses the Anglo-Scottish corridor in the United Kingdom as an excellent example of the warehouse and transport cost trade-off. The trade-off between transport costs and other costs in order to maintain or reduce total costs is an essential aspect of intermodal logistics. The chapter demonstrates how switching from road haulage to intermodal transport is not simply a transport decision but requires an appreciation of the logistics set-up of the individual shipper.
