Search

The article examines perceptions of intermodal shippers towards equipment types. Six characteristics of equipment in use have been discussed: cubic capacity; gross weight capacity; case of loading and unloading; protection of lading; cleanliness; and flexibility. Rail intermodal transportation has been a true success story for the U.S. railroads. An even greater success is the tremendous growth of the containerized segment. The growth of domestic containerization has come from the use of international containers. Once railroads and steamship lines began acquiring equipment to move the international ocean container traffic, the incentive was there to convince shippers to try containerization for domestic moves. The equipment has to be re-positioned at the ports to meet arriving vessels. Since the perceptions of the shipper-users of intermodal equipment are important to the resource acquisition process of railroads, a survey was designed to gather the data. Shipper perception of present intermodal equipment is mixed, but some general impressions can be assessed. Currently there is no single type of equipment that predominates for shipper favor. Although each has strong and weak characteristic perceptions, it appears that containers are gaining momentum in acceptance.