Rail–Truck Multimodal Freight Collaboration: Truck Freight Carrier Perspectives in the United States

Abstract

Due to the impacts of highway congestion, truck driver shortage, the need for energy security, and the increasing revenue gaps to finance highway infrastructure construction and renewal, there is a critical need to explore the opportunities and barriers to rail-truck multimodal transportation paradigms. This study proposes a two-step modeling approach to explore truck freight carrier perspectives on the factors that foster/impede their willingness to collaborate with rail freight carriers through multimodal freight collaboration, and how these factors are correlated with their operational and behavioral characteristics. Understanding these correlations can provide rail freight carrier decision makers insights for the design of targeted mechanisms that will be required for such collaborations to come to fruition, including: (1) adjusting the rail carrier operations; (2) adopting technology that is synergistic with those of truck freight carriers; (3) designs for uncontainerized cargo; and (4) improved quality control strategies for service.