Intermodal Transportation

Since the 1960s major efforts have been made to integrate separate transport systems through intermodalism. 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. The 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. Better techniques and management units for transferring freight from one mode to another have facilitated intermodal transfers. Early examples include piggyback, where truck trailers are placed on rail cars, and LASH (lighter aboard ship), where river barges are placed directly on board sea-going ships. The major development undoubtedly has been the container, which permits easy handling between modal systems. Doublestacking of containers on railways has doubled the capacity of trains to haul freight with minimal cost increases, thereby improving the competitive position of the railways.

There is a relationship between transport costs, distance and modal choice. It enables to understand why road transport is usually used for short distances (from 500 to 750 km), railway transport for average distances and maritime transport for long distances (about 750 km). Variations of modal choice according to the geographical setting are observed but these figures tend to show a growth of the range of trucking. However, intermodalism offers the opportunity to combine modes and find a less costly alternative than an unimodal solution. Numerous technical improvements, such as river / sea shipping and better rail/road integration, have been established to reduce interchange costs, but containerization remains the most significant achievement so far. Public policy is also playing a role through concerns over the dominant position of road transport in modal competition. In Switzerland, for example, laws stipulate that all freight crossing through the country must be placed on the railways in order to try to reduce air pollution in Alpine valleys. The most important feature of intermodalism is the provision of a service with one ticket for passengers or one bill of lading for freight (see a foot-note). This has necessitated a revolution in organization and information control. At the heart of modern intermodalism are data handling, processing and distribution systems that are essential to ensure the safe, reliable and cost effective control of freight and passenger movements being transported by several modes. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is an evolving technology that is helping companies and government agencies (customs documentation) cope with an increasingly complex global transport system.

(edited from http://wikipedia.org)

* A bill of lading is a document issued by a carrier, e.g. a ship's master or by a company's shipping department, acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee who is usually identified. A general bill of lading involves the use of at least two different modes of transport from road, rail, air, and sea. The term derives from the noun "bill", a schedule of costs for services supplied or to be supplied, and from the verb "to lade" which means to load a cargo onto a ship or other form of transport.

b) Scan the text and find the examples of intermodalism.

3. Say if the following statements are true or false, correct the false ones.

• Intermodality enhances the technical performance of a transport chain by using modes in the most productive manner.

• In piggyback type truck trailers are placed on rail cars, and in LASH (lighter aboard ship) type river barges are placed near the board sea-going ships.

• The container undoubtedly permits easy handling between modal systems.

• The meaning of the intermodalism consists in changing different modes of transport effectively.

• Variations of modal choice depend on the transportation costs only.

• A company transporting some freight should have a separate bill of lading for each transportation mode.

• The major components of intermodalism are technical maintenance, fuel servicing and passengers’ safety.

4. a) Match the verbs with their explanations.

1. to enhance a. to cause smth to happen

2. to necessitate b. to pull, to move

3. to cope with c. to improve the quality, value or status of smth

4. to bring about d. to combine things so that they work together

5. to stipulate e. to make smth unavoidable, essential

6. to evolve f. to develop gradually

7. to haul g. to state clearly that smth must be done

8. to integrate h. to deal successfully with smth difficult

b) Find these verbs and their derivatives in the text and say what nouns they collocate with. Think of two more nouns to form collocations.

c ) Use these collocations in the sentences of your own.

5. Read the text again and say what advantages the intermodalism possesses. Use the following phrases:

• It enables…

• It facilitates…

• It brings about…

• It permits…

• It enhances…

Language Focus: Vocabulary

• Complete the following sentences, the first letter of the missing word is given.

1. These new strategies place physical c_________ on transportation projects.

2. The second b__________ of goods was shipped into the stores of the city.

3. Salt water has more b____________ than fresh water.

4. Each company having sea routes should get m__________ insurance for their vessels.

5. A part of a canal or river that is closed off by gates so that the water level can be raised or lowered is called a l_________.

6. A train is a chain of b__________ cars for transportation of bulky cargo.

7. Samara State Aerospace University has three a___________ buildings.

8. Excavators are machines used for d__________, removing mud and sand from the bottom of shallow canals.

9. White wine is a good c____________ to fish.

• Look at the following verb-noun collocations. Cross odd one out.

• to consume space route fuel

• to maintain aircraft family costs

• to finance constraints projects construction

• to integrate systems friction freight

• to enhance reputation performance problem

• to stack port sites containers plates

• to handle problem feelings weather

• to necessitate competition law semi-trailer

• to ensure pallets safety comfort

• to reduce costs level sea

• The following sentences contain spelling mistakes. Find and correct them.

1. Transport modes are caracterised by set of operational, commercial and teknical features.

2. Road construction includes some significant constrains as enviromental and phisical.

3. Air transport limitations are practically multidimentional and include climat, fog and airial curents.

4. At the heart of modern intermodalism are data handling, prossecing and distribusion systems nessessary to ensure the save and cost effective control of freight and passenger movements.

5. The contanerisation has improved the flexebility, cost, speed and acessibility of rail transportation.

• a) Read the text below and look carefully at each line. Two of the lines are correct, and the rest of them have a word which should not be there. If a line is correct, put a tick (√) at the end of the line. If a line has a word that should not be there, write the word at the end of the line. The first one is done for you.

O Cargo ship or freighter is any of sort of ship that

1 carries goods and materials from each one port to 2 another. Specialized types of cargo that vessels

3 include container ships and bulk of carriers. The

4 most earliest of waterborne activity mentions

5 the carriage of items for trade. In the

6 middle of the 19^th century the incidence of by piracy

7 resulted in a most cargo ships being armed quite

8 heavily. Piracy is still quite common in some of

9 the waters roughly around the Asia. Larger cargo 10 ships are generally operated off by shipping lines, 11 companies. Smaller vessels as such as coasters 12 and tramp steamers, are often owned by with

13 its their operators.

____of______

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

b) Render the main idea of the text in Russian.

5. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1. Транспортному логисту доступны 4 вида транспорта: наземный, железнодорожный, морской и воздушный, каждый их которых имеет определенный набор технических и экономических характеристик.

2. Если вы перевозите товар маленькими партиями, советуем вам выбрать наземный транспорт.

3. Воздушный транспорт – самый быстрый вид транспорта, но самый дорогостоящий и сильно зависит от погодных условий.

4. Географически морской транспорт имеет много ограничений, но строительство каналов, шлюзов и дноуглубительные работы помогают решить эту проблему.

5. Для снижения затрат на транспортные услуги многие заводы и фабрики располагаются в непосредственной близости от портов и железнодорожных терминалов.

6. Использование нескольких видов транспорта улучшает экономические показатели транспортной цепи.

7. Использование стандартных контейнеров, съемных кузовов и полуприцепов значительно облегчает автомобильно-железнодорожную перевозку.

8. Транспортировка контейнеров в два яруса увеличила объем перевозимых грузов вдвое с минимальными затратами.

9. Электронная технология обмена данными помогает эффективно отслеживать транспортировку грузов при смешанных перевозках.

Listening

1. Listen to the tape dealing with World Top Transportation Records. F ill in the fact files.

a) The world’s largest cargo ship

Name	Xin Los Angeles
Company
Launch Date
TEU Number
Crew
Overall Length

b ) The world’s biggest transport plane

Name
Launch Date
Payload
Overall length	84 m
Maximum speed
Range

c) The world’s longest train

Company	BHP Iron Ore
Country
Trip Date
Cars number
Overall length
Trip length

d) The world's longest non-stop airline flight

Name
Trip Date
Origin
Destination	London,UK
Trip length
Overall time

e ) The world's longest railroad

Name
Road Length
Origin
Destination
Construction years	1891 - 1905

Writing / Speaking: Now You

1. a) Study the sample letter putting the shipping carrier on notice of claim. Note the information it contains.

Today’s Date

To: Steamship Line, Air Carrier, Trucker 123 Main Street Anytown U.S.A.

RE:	Name of ship or air carrier
	Bill of Lading or Air Waybill number
	Voyage or flight number, Container Number
	Arrival Date
	Description of Cargo (i.e.:  35 cartons of frozen shrimp)

Dear Shipping Carrier:

Please accept this letter as a formal notice of loss.  We are filing a claim against you in the amount of $________ U.S. (insert the total insured value of damaged merchandise) for loss and/or damage sustained to the above referenced shipment.  We are attempting to mitigate this loss.  We will advise you as to our success. 

If this is a refrigerated shipment add:  You are required to retain all temperature records (Partlow, etc.) for our review.

Sincerely,

Customer

CC:	Marine Insurance Company
	PO Box 12345
	Anytown, CA 92345-6789

NB The shipping carrier must be notified in writing as soon as a loss is discovered.  This is important so that we may recover damages from the responsible party and it is a duty required of you in your insurance contract.  All shipping companies limit the time period within which you may file your claim.  Please refer to Time Limits for Filing a Claim Against Carriers / Liability of Carriers for a complete listing.

Carrier	Liability if No Value Declared	Report Loss or Damage within:	Report Concealed Damage within:	Report Nondelivery within:
Steamship (COGSA)	$500 per package	1 year from delivery	Report in writing within 3 days of delivery	1 year from scheduled delivery
International Airline	$9.07 per pound	7 days from delivery	7 days from delivery	120 days from scheduled delivery

b) Imagine that your order was delivered in a damaged state, file a claim to the shipping carrier, specifying the information about the cargo and terms of shipping. You can choose from the list below:

• oranges from Morocco

• salmon from Norway

• leather from Turkey

• fur coats from Greece

• computer kits from the USA

Tune In

1. a) Look at the terms ‘packaging’ and ‘labelling’ and fill in a mind map. Share your ideas with the class. Define the difference between the terms.

b ) Work out your definitions of the notions ‘packaging’ and ‘labelling’.

c

Packaging is the science, art, and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages.

Package Labelling refers to any written, electronic, or graphic communications on the packaging or on a separate but associated label.

) Compare your definitions with the one given by Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org).

Reading 1

8. a) Look at the following functions of packaging and labeling (a – g). Classify them into two groups: the ones related to packaging and the ones related to labelling, put P (packaging) or L (labelling) respectively.

a) Containment or Agglomeration

d) Convenience

g) Physical Protection

f) Barrier Protection

b) Information transmission

e) Marketing

c) Reducing theft

b

Packaging and Labelling.

Packaging is heavily integrated into our daily lives; we see it all around us, on everyday items such as chocolate bars and potato crisp (chip) packets. As explained below, the main use for packaging is protection of the goods inside, but packaging also provides us with a recognisable logo, we instantly know what the goods are inside.

Packaging and package labeling have several objectives:

• 1.___________ The objects enclosed in the package may require protection from, among other things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.

• 2.___________ A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., is often required. Package permeability is a critical factor in design. Some packages contain desiccants or oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified atmospheres or controlled atmospheres are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents clean, fresh, and safe is a primary function.

• 3.___________ Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for reasons of efficiency. For example, a single box of 1000 pencils requires less physical handling than 1000 single pencils. Alternatively, bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that are a more suitable size for individual households.

• 4.___________ Information on how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product is often contained on the package or label. With pharmaceutical, food, medical, and chemical products, some types of information are required by governments.

• 5.___________ The packaging and labels can be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the product. Package design has been an important and constantly evolving phenomenon for dozens of years. Marketing communications and graphic design are applied to the surface of the package and (in many cases) the point of sale display.

• 6.___________ Products are exposed to many contacts in the supply chain. Persons handling could steal products (pilferage), replace full products with empty ones or add unwanted contaminants to the contents (tampering). Packaging that cannot be re-closed or gets physically damaged (shows signs of opening) is very helpful in the prevention of these acts. Packages also provide opportunities to include anti-theft devices, such as dye-packs or electronic article surveillance tags, that can be activated or detected by devices at exit points and require specialized tools to deactivate. Using packaging in this way is a common tactic for loss prevention.

• 7.____________ Packages can have features which add convenience in distribution, handling, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, and reuse.

There are three types of packaging, depending on use. The container that directly holds the product is the PRIMARY (= sales) package. That may be a can, bottle, jar, tube, carton, drum, etc. Any outer wrappings that help to store, transport, inform, display and protect the product are SECONDARY (= group) packaging. Lastly, TERTIARY (= transport) packaging is the grouping of products for storage and transportation. The corrugated, brown carton is the most familiar. Large pallets of shrink-wrapped boxes are a common warehouse sight reflecting tertiary packaging. For any product, from one to all three types of packaging may be necessary depending on the intended purpose. (edited from wordiq.com)

) Skim the text and match the functions with their descriptions.