Intermodal transport and multimodal logistics – making modes complementary in greening transport (own-initiative opinion)

Key points:

• A long-term viable solution to developing efficient and sustainable multimodal transport and logistics can only be achieved by dealing with the problems that make multimodal transport more expensive, slower and less reliable than, in particular, unimodal road transport. It cannot be built with financial promotion or regulatory support.
• In order to ensure fair competition between transport modes, the EESC recommends socially exemplary behaviour by all transport modes to ensure high‑quality transport services, high-quality jobs and good social conditions with a view to achieving a level playing field for all market players.
• Current problems relating to multimodal transport are - apart from additional costs due to transhipment and additional transaction costs - disadvantages such as long delivery times, complexity, higher risk and lower reliability, which make it more difficult for multimodality to take off.
• Therefore, measures are needed to make multimodal freight transport competitive in its own right and achieve efficient and seamless multimodal freight transport flows at the same cost as unimodal transport.