国际多式联运与集装箱运输

4.国际多式联运与集装箱运输4.1 The Nature of IntermodalismCompetition between the modes has tended to produce a transport system that is segmented and un-integrated. Each mode has sought to exploit its own advantages in terms of cost, service, reliability and safety. Carriers try to retain business by maximizing the line-haul under their control. All the modes saw the other modes as competitors, and were viewed with suspicion and mistrust. The lack of integration between the modes was also accentuated by public policy that has frequently barred companies from owning firms in other modes (as in the United States before deregulation), or has placed a mode under direct state monopoly control (as in Europe). Modalism was also favored because of the difficulties of transferring goods from one mode to another, thereby incurring additional terminal costs and delays.Intermodalism originated in maritime transportation, with the development of the container in the late 1960s and has since spread to integrate other modes. It is not surprising that the maritime sector should have been the first mode to pursue containerization. It was the mode most constrained by the time taken to load and unload the vessels. A conventional breakbulk cargo ship could spend as much time in a port as it did at sea. Containerization permits the mechanized handling of cargoes of diverse types and dimensions that are placed into boxes of standard sizes. In this way goods that might have taken days to be loaded or unloaded from a ship can now be handled in a matter of minutes.First Containership, Ideal-X, 1956On April 26th 1956, the Ideal-X left the Port of Newark, New Jersey to the Port Houston, Texas, which it called 5 days later. It carried 58 35-feet (8 feet wide by 8 feet high) containers, along with a regular load of 15,000 tons of bulk petroleum. The 35 feet unit represented at that time the standard truck size in the United States. This first containership was converted under the initiative of Malcom McLean (1914-2001), a trucking magnate who saw the tremendous potential of containerization, particularly in terms of loading and unloading costs. McLean calculated that in 1956 loading a medium-sized ship the conventional way was costing $5.83 a ton. Comparatively, loading the Ideal-X was costing less than $0.16 a ton. The economic advantages of such a mode of transportation thus became clear to the shipping industry. In 1960, McLean founded SeaLand, a major container shipping line, which was purchased in 1999 by Maersk, the worlds largest container shipping company. The Ideal X carried containers until 1965, when it was scrapped.Since the 1960s major efforts have been made to integrate separate transport systems through intermodalism, which took place is several stages. What initially began as improving the productivity of shipping evolved into an integrated supply chain management system across modes. This involves the use of at least two different modes in a trip from origin to destination through an intermodal transport chain. Intermodality enhances the economic performance of a transport chain by using modes in the most productive manner. Thus, the line-haul economies of rail may be exploited for long distances, with the efficiencies of trucks providing flexible local pick up and delivery. The key is that the entire trip is seen as a whole, rather than as a series of legs, each marked by an individual operation with separate sets of documentation and rates. 4.1.1 Integrated Transport Systems: From Fragmentation to CoordinationFactorCauseConsequenceTechnologyContainerization & ITModal and intermodal innovations; Tracking shipments and managing fleetsCapital investmentsReturns on investmentsHighs costs and long amortization; Improve utilization to lessen capital costsAlliances and M&ADeregulationEasier contractual agreements; joint ownershipCommodity chainsGlobalizationCoordination of transportation and production (integrated demand)NetworksConsolidation and interconnectionMultiplying effectThe notion of integrated transport systems received a lot of attention, particularly with improvements in the capacity, efficiency and reliability of freight transport systems. The conventional fragmented and sub-optimal freight transport systems have substantially been improved. A process of coordination of freight transport is taking place. Several factors can be pondered: (1) Technology Technology has been a prime driving force. Containerization is without any doubt the most significant technological factor behind a more efficient coordination of transport modes. Innovations include modes, such as post-panamax containerships or double-stacking trains, but also intermodal equipment to handle significant transshipment demands. Hard (technical) assets require soft (management) assets. Information technologies have gone a long way to help improving the level of control over supply chains, which includes important aspects such as tracking shipments and managing fleets. The issue of e-commerce has particularly received attention. (2) Capital intensive sectorFreight transportation is a capital intensive sector with high entry costs for the maritime and rail segments. The amortization of modes and infrastructures, particularly terminals, has to be spread over a significant time period, sometimes over more than a decade. This environment is prone to risks and many potential investors are unwilling to commit capital for infrastructure projects. This a reason why the government has often been called to step in. Still, freight transport companies are dominantly private entities and must rely on capital markets to finance their ventures. If through a higher level of coordination with other elements of the supply chain a greater quantity and stability in utilization can be secured, capital costs can be reduced and financial returns improved. Thus, intermodal projects have potentially a lower capital risk. (3) New forms of relationshipsCoordination also implies new forms of relationships between freight forwarders. This was favored by the deregulation of many transport modes in the early 1980s. The Aviation Deregulation Act (1979), the Staggers Act (1980), the Motor Carrier Act (1980) and the Ocean Shipping Act (1984) are significant landmarks in this direction. It became easier for different transport operators to establish contractual agreements. Mergers / acquisitions within the same mode started to take place, mainly in maritime and rail transportation, but also modal and intermodal alliances. (4) Global commodity chainsGlobalization has permitted the emergence of a structure of production, often known as global commodity chains or global production networks. This structure requires a high level of coordination. It is thus expected that this production structure imposes a similar structure of distribution where coordination between modes and different transport systems is required. Under such circumstances, transport demand should increasingly be considered as integrated. (5) NetworksFinally, integrated transport systems rely on the respective strengths of each transport networks. Since networks are expensive to build and operate, linking them promotes efficiency and a higher level of control. This can be considered as a multiplying effect where the efficiency of the whole intermodal network is higher than the sum of its parts. 4.1.2 Evolution of Intermodal IntegrationIt can be argued that three major paradigm shifts have taken place within containerized freight distribution systems: (1) Containerization of maritime transport systems.At first, the introduction of the container and its penetration within maritime systems took place. This is particularly the case from the mid 1965s when standardization resulted in common container size and latching systems. The efficiency of port transshipments improved and inland services, dominantly relying on trucking, began to be established. Still, maritime services tended to be on a point-to-point basis and between major ports. (2) Containerization of inland transport systems. Containerization moved inland, mainly in an attempt to improve the continuity already established within maritime transportation, particularly with the setting of pendulum services. The introduction of doublestacking rail services in the mid 1980s required the setting and redesign of inland container rail terminals in North America. The adoption of the container in Europe gained momentum when an intermodal system started to emerge in the late 1970s. For example, the shift from conventional and highly irregular barge services to scheduled and reliable container services in the second half of the 1970s gave impetus to a fast containerization process along the Rhine basin up to the main ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. (3) Intermodal and transmodal operations. Since containerization has expanded to cover maritime and inland transport systems, the next phase dominantly aims at improving its overall efficiency. This efficiency is mainly based in the reduction of the number of times a container is handled as well as the velocity at which intermodal and transmodal operations are performed. Also, the growth in containerized shipments placed additional pressures on intermodal transport systems, which for the maritime segment resulted in the setting of offshore hubs. They mainly act as intermediary locations between major systems of maritime circulation/ Establishment of commodity chains. Inland transport systems accommodated a growing amount of traffic, which in many cases resulted in the setting of large inland freight distribution centers (inland ports). 4.1.3 Intermodal Transport ChainFour major functions define an intermodal transport chain: (1) Composition. The process of assembling and consolidating freight at a terminal that offers an intermodal interface between a local / regional distribution system and a national / international distribution system. Commonly referred as the first mile. Ideally, loads of freight coming from different suppliers are assembled at distribution centers so they can be forwarded to high capacity modes such as rail and maritime shipping. The dominant mode for such a process tends to be trucking as it offers flexibility and door-to-door services. Activities such as packaging and warehousing are also included in the composition process, which is closely linked with the function of production. (2) Connection. Involves a consolidated modal flow, such as a freight train or a containership (or even fleets of trucks), between at least two terminals, which takes place over national or international freight distribution systems. The efficiency of a connection mainly is mainly derived from economies of scale, such as doublestacking or post-panamax containerships, coupled with an adequate frequency of service. (3) Interchange. The major intermodal function takes place at terminals whose purpose is to provide an efficient continuity within a transport chain. Those terminals are dominantly within the realm of national or international freight distribution systems, with ports (transshipment hubs) being the most notable example. (4) Decomposition. Once a load of freight has reached a terminal close to its destination, it has to be fragmented and transferred to the local / regional freight distribution system. Commonly referred as the last mile and often represents one of the most difficult segments of distribution. This function, which is linked with the function of consumption, dominantly occurs within metropolitan areas and involves unique distribution problems also known as urban logistics. 4.1.4 Integrated Freight Transport Systems: Intermodal and Transmodal OperationsFrom a functional and operational perspective, two components are involved in intermodalism:Intermodal transportation. The movements of passengers or freight from one mode of transport to another, commonly taking place at a terminal specifically designed for such a purpose.Transmodal transportation. The movements of passengers or freight within the same mode of transport. Although pure transmodal transportation rarely exists and an intermodal operation is often required (e.g. ship to dockside to ship), the purpose is to insure continuity within the network.The function of transshipment is of core importance in contemporary freight distribution as it is concomitantly an intermodal and a trans-modal activity. In integrated transport systems the time component has become increasingly significant. Since modal speed improvements tend to be marginal, it is at the terminal and with the function of transshipment that most of the time and cost benefits are achieved. Transshipment is more than an intermodal activity; that is movements between modes. It also concerns movements within segments of the same mode; modal transshipment. As commodity chains became more complex and longer the pressure on intermodal and trans-modal transportation has increased. In this geography of transshipments connecting different parts of the transport systems, freight markets and freight forwarders are interacting with increasing efficiency. Intermodal transshipments have received the bulk of the attention, particularly their port and rail terminals segments, as massive investments in those facilities were required to set global commodity chains. However, intramodal transshipments are comparatively uncovered, the main reason being that until recently they mainly took place within fragmented and regulated national transport systems. The three main transmodal dimensions include: (1) Transmodal road Mainly takes place at distribution centers, which have become strategic elements in freight distribution systems. It is probably one of the few cases where intramodal transshipments can be combined with added value activities, such as labeling and packaging. Although distribution centers were conventionally warehousing facilities in which commodities could be stored while waiting to be sold to customers down the supply chain, this function has substantially receded. Time constraints in freight distribution impacted on road based distribution centers, whose function is increasingly related to transmodal operations and much less to warehousing. The true time-dependent intramodal facility remains the cross-docking distribution center. (2) Transmodal maritimeShip-to-ship transshipments mainly concerns intermediary hubs such as in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean or ship-to-barge activities. Although in many cases the containers are actually unloaded onto a temporary storage facility (commonly next to the piers), an off-shore hub is functionally a transmodal facility. They have emerged at intermediary locations by offering transshipment advantages in view of costs related to pendulum multiport services coupled with lower container handling cost related to transshipment-only terminals, in addition to economies of scale for feeder ships. (3) Transmodal railProbably represents one of the least investigated segments of transmodal transportation. Most rail systems were built to service specific markets and were heavily regulated. It is only recently that containerization created the need for transmodal functions in rail transport systems, since rail transportation was forced to address a new variety of movements, many of them with international origins or destinations. Initially, rail developed greater intermodal efficiencies with maritime and road transport systems, particularly because this represented new market opportunities. 4.1.5 Intermodal Transportation as an Integrative ForceThus, transportation systems having several modes can be considered from two different conceptual perspectives:(1) Intermodal Transportation Network. A logistically linked system using two or more transport modes with a single rate. Modes are having common handling characteristics, permitting freight (or people) to be transferred between modes during a movement between an origin and a destination. For freight, it also implies that the cargo does not need to be handled, just the load unit such as a pallet or a container. (2) Multimodal Transportation Network. A sequence of transport modes offering connections between a set of origins and destinations. However, these connections imply that the load unit needs to be changed, which is common for bulk transportation.Intermodality can be conceived as the transition from one mode of transportation to another, and is organized around the followings concepts:l The nature and quantity of the transported commodities; l The modes of transportation being used; l The origins and destinations; l Transportation time and costs; l The value of the commodities and the frequency of shipment. The above figures illustrate two alternatives to freight distribution. The first is a conventional point-to-point multimodal network where origins (A, B and C) are independently linked to destinations (D, E and F). In this case, two modes (road and rail) are used. The second alternative involves the development of an integrated intermodal transport network with common load units (containers). Traffic converges at two transshipment points, rail terminals, where loads are consolidated. This can result in higher load factors and/or higher transport frequency, especially between terminals. Under such circumstances, the efficiency of such a network mainly resides in the transshipment capabilities of transport terminals.4.1.6 Intermodalism technologyThe emergence of intermodalism has been brought about in part by technology and requires management units for freight such as containers, swap bodies, pallets or semi-trailers. In the past, pallets were a common management unit, but their relatively small size