In the past couple of years, in order to create the capacity required for the number of containers transported all around the world, the size and number of containerships has increased significantly. However, container terminals are lagging behind. Firstly, it is not clear if they have enough capacity to handle the increasing number of containers, and secondly, although mega-containerships provide enough capacity at the seaside for transporting containers, the connectivity of container terminals to the hinterland seems to create a bottleneck.
Traditionally, containers are transported to the hinterland via three modes of transportation – barge, truck, and train. Up to now, trucks have been the dominant mode of transportation due their flexibility.
