With the continuing competition to contract quality truckers to transport products across country, intermodal freight shipping provides an attractive transportation alternative to OTR trucking for shipments over 750 miles. Offering economic and environment benefits, in addition to addressing the capacity crunch of available truckers, intermodal combines the resources of different transportation modes, such as trucking and rail, to get products from the warehouse to their final destination.
As the seasonal increase in chemical shipments begins, the surge in freight volumes cannot be addressed by available fleets. In February, FTR Associates (an industry leader in logistics forecasting) lowered its shipper's conditions to reflect tightening carrier capacity, particularly in the truckload sector. Noel Perry, FTR managing director and senior consultant, predicts a shortage of 215,000 drivers by the end of this year.
In the competition to retain carriers, shippers will most likely pay a premium for available truckers. They may also find themselves scrambling to find new resources to satisfy additional shipping requirements. Intermodal freight shipping can help alleviate the costs and problems associated with today's limited capacity associated with OTR trucking.
