Economics and management in the sphere of ict department: management and marketing

6-graph. Road transportation.
Freight shipment by truck (see Fig. 1.8) has some advantages over other modes of transportation. First, the trucking industry is very competitive. This benefits companies utilizing trucking companies because high competition leads to lower prices. This competition is the result of a relatively low capital investment in vehicles compared to other modes of transportation. “Low capital costs also ensure that innovations and new technologies can diffuse quickly through the industry” (Notteboom, Rodrigue, & Slack, 1998). Another advantage is that truck shipments are also considered timely and consistent because of high vehicle speeds. Third, road transportation provides much flexibility for companies in route selection. There is a multitude of routes that companies can ship products within the supply chain and the routing choices can lead to competitive advantages for efficient companies. Since trucks use public roads, they are restricted by weight limits. This weight capacity varies by country (see Table 1.6). For example, US trucks are not permitted to carry more than 2022 tons while using US highway networks.

7-graph. Freight weight limits: road limitations provided by ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, Ltd.
Rail transportation is characterized by "a high level of economic and territorial control since most rail companies are operating in a situation of monopoly, as in Europe, or oligopoly, as in North America (Notteboom, Rodrigue, & Slack, 1998).” Rail is the choice of companies that need to ship goods long distance that are generally not time sensitive. This mode of transportation is considered cheap, efficient, and environmentally friendly. “Rail Transport is a ‘green’ system, in that its consumption of energy per unit load per km is lower than road modes (Notteboom, Rodrigue, & Slack, 1998).” The major components of rail transportation system are railcar, railroad, and rail terminal.

8-graph Rail on the trial
A railroad car (see Fig. 1.9) or railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon or railway carriage (British English and UIC), also called a train car or train wagon, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on railroad or railway. With containerized unit trains, economies of scale are quickly realized with the declining marginal cost of each additional container added to each shipment. Freight must be carried on fixed routes and all transshipment of goods must be conducted at rail terminals. Transshipment of freight from railcars represents that majority of time consumed during rail transit. Operating a rail system involves using regular (scheduled), but rigid, services. Rail transport is also subject to governmental regulation regarding the maximum allowable weight of freight shipments and height restrictions.
The largest concentrations are on routes between Pacific Coast ports and Chicago, southern California and Texas, and Chicago and New York. This is because there is a higher concentration of people around the bigger city areas, which means more business for suppliers since the demand is higher and reflects the higher population. Rail transportation has several limiting factors in its implementation. The terminal requirements for rail hubs significantly increase the operating costs.
There are four different classes of freight railroads: Class I, regional, local line haul, and switching & terminal. Class I railroads are defined as those with revenue of at least $346.8 million in 2006. They comprise just 1% of the number of freight railroads, but account for 67% of the industry’s mileage, 90% of its employees, and 93% of its freight revenue. Seven Class I freight railroads operate in the United States: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, CSX Transportation, Grand Trunk Corporation, Kansas City Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern Combined Railroad Subsidiaries, Soo