When Should I Use Intermodal Shipping?

When-Should-I-Use-Intermodal-Shipping

You’re no beginner when it comes to moving your products. You know your brokers, lanes, pricing, and just about everything that has to be sorted out to get your cargo from point A to point B. But just because you have worked in the industry for a long time doesn’t leave you subject to missing out on some huge opportunities.

When deciding how to move your products, it’s important to evaluate what your options are. If your circumstances match any of the following criteria, you may find that shipping your products through intermodal methods can save you lots of time, headaches, and money in the future.

Schedule Knowledge Is Important to You

Although truckers rely heavily on an as-needed demand basis and book out quickly in the busy seasons, railroads are always moving according to consistent schedules (and they have plenty of available space). If you want your shipping schedule to be easy, quick, and known well in advance, intermodal transportation may be right for you.

Shipping from a Hard-to-Reach Location

If you’re not in the heart of a big city, you can probably relate to this difficulty. Getting cargo moved directly out of a smaller city via truck to take the long haul can be pricey and complicated. However, if you are able to get your shipment to a larger city near you, intermodal shipping options that can save you money and time will quickly multiply.

Moving Cargo Over 750 Miles

If you have shipments moving more than 750 miles and you aren’t moving your cargo via rail, you may be missing some really great deals for transit times and prices. With rail transport, your shipping prices go 10 to 30 percent down because of fuel costs, handling , and ease of transport. Many of your savings come from this simple truth – moving a train 750 miles without stopping is a lot quicker and cost-effective than making a trucker do it.

Cargo Along the Same Lanes Frequently

If you have moved a lot of your cargo along the same lanes via truck, you’ve probably experienced at least a couple moments of frustration with fluctuations in transit time. Given the consistency of rail transportation, intermodal shipping streamlines your shipping process so you don’t have to worry about the frequent inconsistencies of trucking brokers.

Reach out to one of our team members at Commerce Express. We would be happy to answer any questions.

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