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What is Intermodal?

Intermodal refers to utilizing two or more methods of transportation for the movement of a single shipment. The term "Intermodal" almost always refers to intermodal rail involving the movement of containers (COFC: container-on-flatcar) utilizing both truckload and railroad transportation.

Intermodal leverages truckload’s ability to travel anywhere there is a paved road, including a shipper or receiver’s facilities, and railroad’s ability to move goods at the lowest cost and most fuel-efficient manner available.

Converting truckloads to intermodal loads is a key strategy that shippers and receivers can use to optimize their supply chains by reducing transportation costs, adding capacity, and fulfilling environmentally friendly or green initiatives.

Intermodal Border Crossing

You can be assured that DSV will move your cargo across the border safely and securely, preventing it from getting tied up in red tape.

DSV simplifies cross-border business by providing you with a single point of contact, resulting in increased security and on-time delivery. We expedite customs clearance, enabling you to:

  • Focus time on increasing business in other geographic markets
  • Save time by having your cargo move efficiently through customs
  • Maximize visibility through live tracking of your shipments
  • Increase capacity to meet seasonal demand or take advantage of unexpected orders
  • Gain peace of mind knowing that you're working with tenured logistics professionals who do this every day 
 

Key Benefits of Intermodal Transport

 As DSV's customer, you benefit from our relationships with all major North American railroads, and our extensive drayage network ensures efficient cargo moves from origination to destination. We manage the complexities of the entire intermodal shipping process, enabling transportation time and cost savings. Our team also offers intermodal border crossing through a single point of contact.

Intermodal rail can often save shippers 10%-15% of the cost of a shipment (and more in some cases) as an alternative to truckload, for applicable freight, with roughly half of the fuel surcharge of a truckload move.

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