Unlocking Intermodal: Overcoming the Roadblocks to Sustainable Freight
The European freight market, a critical artery of economic activity, struggles with a persistent and costly inefficiency: its disproportionate reliance on road transport. Despite compelling evidence of intermodal transport's superior environmental footprint and latent capacity benefits, the anticipated structural shift remains largely unrealized. This article delves into the economic and operational friction points that impede a more sustainable and efficient allocation of freight across modes, examining the fundamental differences between road and intermodal transport and pinpointing the strategic hurdles that procurement leaders must overcome.
Modes of Transport
The most fundamental difference between road and intermodal transport lies obviously in the modes utilized. Road freight relies exclusively on a truck for the entire journey, which can be direct from origin to destination or include multiple en-route stops. In contrast, intermodal transportation leverages two or more modes. The most common combination is road-rail-road, followed by road-ship-road (for short sea) and road-barge-road (on rivers), whereas the non-road portion should consist of more than 50% of the entire journey. In the following we will majorly focus on road-rail-road as it has the broadest implementation opportunities.
Intermodal transport necessitates specialized equipment like trailers or containers that can be easily transferred, enabling seamless shifts between trucks, trains, and ships. This combined transport can be either accompanied or unaccompanied. The majority of combined transports are unaccompanied (approximately 80%, according to the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport, UIRR), meaning the tractor unit is not transported with the goods. In an accompanied setup, the entire truck rolls onto the wagon, and drivers typically accompany the railway shipment in a couchette carriage before executing the final road leg to the destination.
Infrastructure and Accessibility
The primary appeal of road transportation is its ubiquitous accessibility; virtually all facilities have road access. This allows for fast, easy door-to-door deliveries, even to remote areas.
Intermodal transport, however, requires access to intermodal terminals or even a railway siding. A direct railway siding offers the greatest advantage, eliminating one road leg entirely. For efficient intermodal operations, terminals should be strategically located within a reasonable distance. Therefore, a dense terminal network is crucial for fully realizing the benefits of intermodal transport. According to the International Union of Railways (UIC), the average road leg for combined transport in Germany is 100-120 km, while in contrast in Switzerland, 65% of combined transport journeys have a road leg under 25 km.
Additionally, terminals must offer frequent schedules and appropriate connections for regional clients. Our proprietary data indicates the highest road-rail-road usage on the following corridors and vice versa:
Rhine Area (BeNeLux/Germany) to Italy
Spain to Poland/Germany
Poland to Western Europe
In general, the applicability of cross-border intermodal transport is complicated by structural differences between countries, such as varying railway gauges, voltage systems or also safety guidelines that oblige train drivers to speak the respective native language. This necessitates time-consuming and costly transfers.
Weight Restrictions
One of the significant advantages of intermodal transportation is the potential for higher payloads. Not only do trains allow for a greater payload per wagon, but the road leg of an intermodal transport can also permit higher gross weights in certain countries. Germany and Spain allow a total gross weight of 44 tons for the road leg of an intermodal transport, compared to the 40 tons typically permitted for standard road transports. Overall, trains can carry substantially higher payloads than a typical truck, so weight restrictions for intermodal primarily stem from the limitations on the road legs.
Transit Time and Flexibility
Road transport offers a considerable advantage in terms of flexibility due to its easy access. With numerous service providers available, road transport can be arranged easily, even on short notice, making it also highly attractive for spot transportation. Reduced handling efforts and direct connections between loading and unloading points contribute to shorter transit times. In case of disruptions, rerouting and switching options provide flexible adjustments, ensuring fast delivery.
Conversely, transit time and flexibility are not the strengths of intermodal transportation. It generally requires longer transit times due to transfers between modes and adherence to train schedules. Current widespread construction works to maintain the infrastructure prolong the transit time and jeopardize the reliability as intermodal offers less flexibility for rerouting.
However, intermodal might still be a viable solution. As not all transports demand immediate and highly flexible processing, intermodal is well-suited for stable and predictable transports that can accommodate longer lead times. It even has some advantages on some corridors like the alpine transit corridor, where it enjoys beneficial treatment and is not suffering from block clearances by authorities.
Environmental Impact
The favorable engine-to-load ratio of intermodal transport provides a significant competitive edge in sustainability. A single locomotive can transport up to 35 wagons with low friction, meaning intermodal scores highly, particularly on the rail leg. While the exact environmental benefit depends on the energy source, it demonstrably reduces carbon footprint and truck traffic on roads. A study by the European Environment Agency in 2018 shows that rail emits 24 gCO2 per tkm, whereas road emits 137 gCO2 per tkm, highlighting rail's clear advantage.
Advancements in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) present an opportunity for road transport to lower its emissions and become more competitive in the near future. Yet, also intermodal transport can reduce its emissions by employing BEVs on its short road distances making it even better suited than road given the range limitations of such vehicles.
Costs and Prices
The cost components of road transport are relatively straightforward due to the direct connection between load and tractor unit. The overall costs primarily comprise five groups: fuel, driver, vehicle, toll, and services.
Intermodal transport incurs all these costs, but only for the to/from terminal road legs. The rail leg introduces additional cost components, including:
Handling/shunting fees in the terminal
Transportation service (costs for infrastructure, energy, rolling stock, personnel)
Administrative fees
In a recent research for an intermodal transport from Duisburg to Novarra, we examined the cost shares of the pre- & on-carriage road leg and the rail leg. It revealed that pre- & on-carriage if around 100km each account for roughly 50% of the entire cost for the door-to-door transport. This highlights the big impact of the rather short road distances on the overall cost, impairing the attractiveness of intermodal.
Intermodal’s complex cost structure leads to an altered cost distribution. The increased handling (loading, unloading, and mode-switching) makes intermodal more fixed-costs intensive, both in terms of price and time. This becomes particularly evident on short distances where fixed costs make up a large portion of the overall expenses.
However, as the rail leg (and overall transport length) increases, the influence of the cost-attractive rail leg grows due to beneficial cost distribution across multiple wagons, offering competitive price advantages.