Multi-Modal Transportation
Multi-modal transportation is the movement of freight using two or more modes of transport (truck, rail, ocean, air) within a single shipment journey, managed under a coordinated plan to optimize cost, speed, and reliability.
Why It Matters
Most global supply chains are inherently multi-modal. A shipment from Shanghai to Chicago might move by truck to the origin port, by ocean vessel to Long Beach, by drayage to a rail terminal, by intermodal rail to Chicago, and by truck to the final DC. Each mode has different tracking methods, different carriers, and different exception patterns.
The FourKites Perspective
The FourKites Shipment Twin handles multi-leg, multi-mode journeys natively. A container moving through five mode changes is modeled as one shipment with mode-specific tracking at each leg. Container handoffs, vessel transshipments, and drayage pickups are all captured as events within one unified shipment object. The Graph provides transit intelligence for each mode and each leg independently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Outcome PAGES