How Intermodal Transportation Can Benefit You

Due to a dwindling supply of well-trained drivers and fewer younger people entering the

industry, many transportation-related businesses are being forced to consider alternatives for

long-haul loads. We’re not among these trucking companies at West Coast Carriers – our staff

of highly trained drivers remains robust and at your service – but we’re also conscious of some

of these alternative freight methods and how they can benefit our customers.

One such method is called intermodal transportation. Intermodal transportation refers to

longer hauls that are broken up between various modes of transportation; in our case, we

involve our extensive network of railroad connections to complement trucking services on both

sides. There are several benefits to intermodal transportation, and we’ll look at a few here.

More Transportation Avenues

The simplest benefit of intermodal transportation is the extra avenues of movement it opens

up. The availability of railroad transportation means that even if trucking is unavailable for a

particular area, shipping can still take place. It’s much easier to find a trucker who can do a

short day run than a multi-day long haul, and a single day is usually long enough to bring goods

from an original location to a railroad stop in close proximity.

Cost Benefits

There are cases where long haul trucking will make financial sense, but these are becoming

rarer and rarer. Railroad transportation is generally far cheaper than most comparable forms of

trucking, so if you can organize your shipment to be mostly done over the rails, you can cut

significant costs from your budget.

Environmental Benefits

Intermodal forms of transportation are also typically much more beneficial to the environment.

Railways can move huge numbers of freight containers all at the same time, and this is a much

more economical form of transportation from this vantage point.

Interested in learning more about our intermodal transportation options, or need information

on LTL trucking, flatbed trucking or any of our other services offered? The experts at West

Coast Carriers are standing by to assist you.