Article by Richard W. Palmer and Frank P. DeGiulio
Although the word multimodalism thus far has escaped inclusion in most dictionaries, it is a term now widely used in the transportation industry to describe the concept of an integrated system of through-transportation of goods over land and water. On its face, multimodalism simply suggests transportation of a particular shipment of cargo by different modes of transportation, which is certainly not a new development. However, to those in the transportation industry, the term embodies fundamental changes in the methods and patterns of cargo transportation brought about by technological advances and by changed perceptions transportation policy by legislators, regulators, and judges over the last twenty years.
Multimodalism is characterized by the integration and coordination of various modes of transportation, commonly by means of a metal shipping container, providing point-of-origin to point-of-destination transportation under a single set of shipping documents and based on a single through-freight rate charged to the shipper, regardless of how many modes of transportation are employed or how many carriers are involved. In the true multimodal movement, the shipper need only deal with one party to arrange for the entire shipment.
The concept of one carrier arranging for transportation through different modes either by issuance of a “through” bill of lading or by coordinating trans-shipment between intermediate points is not new. The significance of multimodalism is the explosive proliferation of international point-of-origin to point-of-destination multimodal shipments arranged by a single carrier under one set of documents.
From an operational standpoint, multimodalism may be seen as merely a natural evolution arising from the basic transportation principle that unitization of cargo leads to increased efficiency, speed of handling, and reduced costs. However, multimodalism is distinguished by the application of the unitization principle in an integrated manner to all modes of transportation including steamships, railroads, trucks, and airplanes, as well as consolidation of all transportation arrangements in a single economic transaction.
The development of multimodalism has eroded the seemingly rigid boundaries that have traditionally separated sea, rail, and truck transportation in this country both in a legal and regulatory sense and, in most instances, in an operational sense. Such distinctions between various segments of the transportation industry are now rapidly becoming blurred, and we are moving into an age of total-transportation companies that offer integrated water, rail, and truck service.
From a legal standpoint, the development of multimodalism is significant because the laws governing the rights and liabilities of carriers and shippers were developed separately for each mode of transportation during the decades when those transportation segments were viewed as distinct. The technological advances associated with multimodalism have outpaced changes in the law, often resulting in the application of different legal and regulatory regimes to a single cargo movement.
While lack of uniformity in the law can be remedied by legislative action, the effects of the increased use of multimodal techniques on the ports of this country, on the labor serving those ports, and on the regional economies in which those ports are located, pose problems that are less easily resolved. The realization that ten transportation days can be saved on a cargo shipment from the Far East to New York by multimodal ship and transcontinental rail carriage, as opposed to an all-water route, demonstrates that fundamental and lasting changes in the patterns of cargo movement in this country already are occurring. The traditional concept of moving cargo through the seaport nearest the origin or destination of the shipment may no longer apply. The intermediate and long-range effects of these dynamic changes on ports and regional economies in the United States remain to be seen.
The purpose of this Article is to provide an overview of the historical development of multimodalism, including an examination of the regulatory and legal structure under which it has evolved and of its impact on terminal operations and traditional patterns of carge routing. It is hoped that this Article will furnish a useful introduction to the analysis of other writers in this symposium who will consider specific current legal and operational problems.
About the Author
Richard W. Palmer. Member, Palmer, Biezup & Henderson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A.B. 1942, Harvard; J.D. 1948, Harvard; President, Maritime Law Association of the United States.
Frank P. DeGiulio. Partner, Palmer, Biezup & Henderson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. B.S. 1979, United States Merchant Marine Academy; M.B.A. 1981, University of Pittsburgh; J.D. 1984, University of Pittsburgh.
Citation
64 Tul. L. Rev. 281 (1989)