Intermodal Transportation Impacts on Environment

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Defining Intermodal Transportation
The Necessity of Addressing Environmental Issues
Dairy Supply Chain
Freight Trains
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Nowadays, it is becoming extremely important for everyone to join their efforts to fight against environmental problems and start making individual contributions. Each separate system and sphere are also trying to contribute to this process, and transportation is no exception. This research paper seeks to answer two important questions: What are the benefits of intermodal transport, and how can this solution reduce negative impacts on the environment? Although almost all modes of transport contribute to the pollution of nature, and the use of vehicles is growing, intermodal transportation can actually benefit the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Defining Intermodal Transportation

To begin with, it is important to define intermodal transportation to explain its positive influence. According to Crainic, Perboli, & Rosano (2018), it “refers to multimodal chains or networks involving at least two transportation modes, freight being packed into a “container” and not being handled at intermodal-transfer terminals on its trip” (p. 401). This type of transportation was invented about forty years ago, and at first, not all of its benefits were evident (Rossi, Pozzi, Pirovano, Cigolini, & Pero, 2021). Nowadays, researchers know about several advantages of intermodal transportation, whether domestic or worldwide.

The Necessity of Addressing Environmental Issues

It is well-known that environmental problems are becoming more severe and significant. As noticed by Khrutba, Mateichyk, Spasichenko, & Marunych (2019), irrational use of natural resources when implementing freight transportation results in natural ecosystems’ disturbed balance. Greenhouse gas emissions are a great threat to the planet, and addressing this issue by creating environment-friendly solutions and technologies (Kubáňová, Otáhalová, & Senko, 2020) is vital. As illustrated in Figure 1, there has been a rapid increase in annual global CO₂ emissions, and it has become possible to reduce them over the past few years. Therefore, it is required to strengthen the recently used effective resources and solutions and make sure that the positive trends are continued.

Fig. 1. Annual CO₂ emissions (Source: Ritchie & Roser, Our World in Data, 2021).

Is Intermodal Transportation Beneficial?

Apparently, intermodal transportation has rather positive impacts and is recognized as a useful logistics system. For example, in Europe, it is believed that intermodal transport is environmentally better and provides a fierce competition to road transport (Rossi et al., 2021). Overall, it is possible to say that the positive effects of intermodal transportation on nature are rather surprising and interesting. For those logistics companies that are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, it is recommended to pay attention to the multi-carrier transporting freight approach.

Dairy Supply Chain

It is possible to understand the advantages of intermodal transportation on the example of the dairy supply chain that is noticed to be a rather energy-intensive sector. Considering the fact that dairy products require constant refrigeration, their transportation provides an increased effect on the environment. Consequently, within the dairy industry, Sustainable Supply Chain Management solutions and initiatives are suggested (Cannas, Ciccullo, Pero, & Cigolini, 2020). One such efficient and promising recommendation is to use intermodal rail-road transportation. In other words, carrying goods and products in the same unit through various transportation modes is expected to reduce negative impacts like pollution on the environment (Crainic et al., 2018). Indeed, it is proved that intermodal rail-road transportation is one of the most effective, successful, and powerful methods that help reduce pollution related to hydrocarbons, CH4, NOx, CO, and CO2 “by up to 77.4%, as compared to the use of road transport alone” (Cannas et al., 2020, p. 7314). Thus, harmful gas emissions are decreased, and the question of how it is achieved is addressed in the following paragraph.

Freight Trains

Overall, freight trains are an essential part of the discussed method of transportation. Their importance lies in their ability to travel farther while requiring less fuel. Compared to long-distance trucks, the fuel efficiency of freight trains is higher, so they can transport the same shipment with less carbon footprint (CIE Manufacturing, n.d.). It is also important to notice that trains usually operate at increased capacity and speed, while air resistance experienced by them is lower, compared with Over-the-Road (OTR) freights (Tamannaei, Zarei, & Rasti-Barzoki, 2021). Consequently, using intermodal transportation not only allows to cut costs and reduce shipping time but also decreases harmful gas emissions, environmental pollution, and the general use of fossil fuels.

Data and statistics usually seem to be more convincing than long speeches and the use of literary devices. Even approximate numbers can make companies prefer more beneficial transporting systems. For instance, according to CIE Manufacturing (n.d.), the Environmental Protection Agency states that using intermodal rail for transporting goods and products for distances longer than a thousand miles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to sixty-five percent (para. 6). As for overseas shipping, the necessity for additional trips decreases since modern cargo ships carry a vast number of intermodal containers per load (Wang et al., 2020). Finally, in cases when only transportation on trucks is available, they still travel for shorter distances, which additionally reduces negative impacts on the environment.

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, one may say that intermodal transportation is the best modern decision that addresses environmental problems. Thanks to this system, it is now possible to significantly reduce carbon footprint while also achieving other benefits and continuing to transport goods and products. Therefore, intermodal transportation appears to have an extended number of advantages, including reduced use of fossil fuels and decreased greenhouse gas emissions.

References

Cannas, V. G., Ciccullo, F., Pero, M., & Cigolini, R. (2020). Sustainable innovation in the dairy supply chain: Enabling factors for intermodal transportation. International Journal of Production Research, 58(24), 7314-7333.

CIE Manufacturing. (n.d.). The environmental advantages of intermodal shipping. Web.

Crainic, T. G., Perboli, G., & Rosano, M. (2018). Simulation of intermodal freight transportation systems: A taxonomy. European Journal of Operational Research, 270(2), 401-418.

Khrutba, V., Mateichyk, V., Spasichenko, O., & Marunych, S. (2019). Ecological approach to evaluation of the effects of transport on environment in intermodal transportation[PDF document]. Web.

Kubáňová, J., Otáhalová, Z., & Senko, Š. (2020). Advantages and disadvantages of intermodal freight transportation. In J. Mikulski (Ed.), International conference on transport systems telematics (pp. 285-295). Berlin, Germany: Springer.

Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2021). CO2 emissions. Web.

Rossi, T., Pozzi, R., Pirovano, G., Cigolini, R., & Pero, M. (2021). A new logistics model for increasing economic sustainability of perishable food supply chains through intermodal transportation. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 24(4), 346-363.

Tamannaei, M., Zarei, H., & Rasti-Barzoki, M. (2021). A game theoretic approach to sustainable freight transportation: Competition between road and intermodal road–rail systems with government intervention. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 153, 272-295.

Wang, W., Xu, X., Jiang, Y., Xu, Y., Cao, Z., & Liu, S. (2020). Integrated scheduling of intermodal transportation with seaborne arrival uncertainty and carbon emission. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 88, 1-15.

Click Here To Order Now!