How to use

1. Enter ocean container freight rate and transit duration (in days).
2. Add port terminal handling charges (THC), unloading, and brokerage fees.
3. Specify intermodal rail leg costs and transit duration.
4. Input last-mile road trucking expenses from rail ramp to receiver warehouse.
5. Provide direct road trucking benchmark to evaluate net cost savings and transit time tradeoffs.

What is Multimodal Freight Transportation?

Multimodal freight moves cargo under a single carriage contract utilizing multiple transport modes (vessel, train, truck) for optimal cost efficiency.

This calculator empowers supply chain planners to model multi-leg routing, budget terminal handling, and evaluate trade-offs between transit velocity and freight savings.

Core Legs of Multimodal Freight

• Ocean Leg: deep-sea container transit between international ports.

• Port Terminal Handling (THC): container stevedoring, crane moves, and customs inspection fees.

• Rail Intermodal Leg: long-haul container rail transport.

• Last-Mile Drayage: dedicated chassis truck delivery to final dock ramp.

• Transit Clearance: export/import customs brokerage documentation.

Multimodal Routing Comparison Example

A combined sea + rail + road route costs 141,000 UAH taking 38 days total.

Direct express trucking for the same origin-destination costs 175,000 UAH taking 12 days.

The multimodal route delivers 34,000 UAH in net savings per container, providing critical margin relief for non-urgent shipments.

How to Optimize Multimodal Logistics Budgets

• Leverage 40ft High Cube containers to maximize volume density.

• Monitor free port demurrage/detention windows to prevent container detention fines.

• Partner with intermodal freight forwarders offering unified through bills of lading.

Methodology & Accuracy

The tool aggregates leg tariffs and compounds expected transfer buffer days across transport modes.

Actual timelines may fluctuate based on port congestion, customs clearance holds, and equipment repositioning.