TIME TO RETHINK INTERMODAL

After decades of failed promise, rail intermodal has finally taken its place as the fastest growing segment of railroad traffic and one of the most important of the railroads' lines of business. While intermodal has been seen as the environmentally benevolent answer to ever increasing truck traffic on the highways and the steady pressure to bring in longer and heavier trucks, rail intermodal has also triggered a competitive response in the trucking industry. Thus, capacity constraints, equipment supply, and the shape of operations all need a new look if rail intermodal is to keep growing, especially in view of toughening trucker competition.