Transport Logistics

iii) Need to support technology developments

New technologies are needed in order to meet shippers’ constantly higher demands for efficiency,

reliability and timeliness to make intermodal freight cost and services even more competitive with

road transport.

Intermodal transportation not only depends on the physical interface but also upon an electronic

interface to send the information necessary for moving cargo from its origin to destination. Therefore,

it is critical to invest not only in the physical links to exchange cargo between the modes but also in

technology to permit the intermodal exchange of information in order to maximise the capacity of the

entire intermodal transportation chain. Streamlining the movement of freight along an integrated

intermodal logistic network through deployment of seamless Internet-based information systems may

further improve fleet management and optimise load dispatching.

Technology development and implementation is primarily a concern for the industrial partners,

but governments can stimulate developments by issuing standards and spreading knowledge about

experiences from technical and commercial tests. Operators can then choose from a palette of proven

technologies at reasonable prices and also benefit from experiences gained by operators of other

services.  Some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, are investigating the possibility of

introducing Performance Based Standards as part of their regulatory reform agenda. Variations in

prescriptive regulations on mass, dimension and configuration controls within and between countries

are not always soundly based, reflecting real operational differences. The development of

performance-based regulations provides a framework for establishing regulations that match the

environment in which they apply in a sound, verifiable manner. Performance-based regulations are

designed to directly control safety, infrastructure and environmental objectives, without specifying

how the objectives are to be achieved. Performance-based regulations specify what a vehicle must be

able to do, instead of what it must look like (for example, its dimensional envelope).

With present transhipment techniques intermodal transport over shorter distances is often not

commercially viable to shippers and logistics service providers.  Hence, further research involving

industry in the search for low cost innovative transhipment systems is required.

Advanced countries should provide technical support to those countries that are still in the

process of modernising their information and intermodal systems. This is also true for developing and

instituting third party logistics and virtual logistic chain systems in these countries.

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