International Marketing Practices

Land Transportation Land transport is used to ship a large percentage of forest products domestically and internationally. Approximately 81% and 19% of domestic ton-mile transport of wood and paper products were moved in 2017 by truck and rail, respectively [18, 158]. Road transportation, otherwise known as highway, truck, or over-the-road (OTR), is generally more expensive than rail transport; however, it allows for high efficiency, flexibility, and speed. One appealing characteristic of road transportation is its ability to offer door-to-door service without loading or unloading between destinations [159]. Rail cargo is typically transported to a rail yard by truck; for this reason, rail transportation is described as “terminal-to-terminal” rather than “door- to-door” service [159]. Land transportation is often a vital component of intermodal transportation, as will be detailed later in this section. Truck he increasing adoption of supply chain management practices like Just in Time, which promotes small, frequent shipments, has contributed to the prevalence of road shipment. However, for shipments over 100,000 pounds, truck transportation is not economically viable, and rail is preferable, offering efficiency in large volumes with ease of loading for flat cars and product protection [18, 159]. There are a variety of vehicle options available for road transport, which can be carried out using full truck load (FTL or TL) or less than truckload (LTL) shipping. FTL is the best option for shipments of more than 15,000 pounds, or more than 10 standard-size pallets of freight (more about pallets later in this chapter). For LTL, multiple senders share space on the same truck, making it an attractive option for small to medium sized firms that ship small orders. In general, LTL shipments decrease expenses, but there is a higher risk of damage owing to additional handling and less reliable lead times when compared with FTL. Rail il transportation typically relies on manifest trains, or those that move different types of rail cars carrying various freight, including solids, liquids, or gases [160, 161] (Figure 11). The cargo on these trains is typically moved for several companies at once, offering economically advantageous solutions for many firms. Rail freight is moved in a number of railcars, including (1) boxcars, which serve as general purpose containers; (2) flatcars, which are often used for finished machinery, logs, or other industrial products; (3) hopper cars or bulk utility cars loaded from the top and unloaded from the bottom using gravity; (4) gondola cars, which are open on the top and used for products like coal or gravel; and (5) tank cars designed to carry liquids or gases [160].

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