Not every good is shipped from a manufacturer to a retailer, warehouse or end customer using only a single mode of transportation. Sometimes the items need to be shipped from a ship to a rail or truck. Also, goods may need to be broken down from the shipping pallet or container and transported to other warehouse destinations. This type of transportation strategy is called transloading.

What Is Transloading?

Transloading refers to the shipping of goods using more than one transportation method for part of the trip. For example, you may have a pallet of toys on a truck that will take a trip to another location using a commercial train. The pallet will be placed in a railcar and moved to a transloading facility where the pallet will be transferred over to another truck headed to a warehouse.

Another type of transloading method involves moving large shipments to smaller containers. In this case, the pallet of toys is broken down into smaller crates, so those crates may go on different trucks to varied locations.

What’s the Difference Between Transloading vs. Intermodal?

Sometimes the terms transloading and intermodal are used interchangeably because they have similar meanings. However, there are major differences between them. While intermodal logistics also involves moving shipments using several modes of transportation, it involves using shipping containers. Also, intermodal transportation requires that items stay in the container for the entire trip, versus the bulk items being broken down into other smaller shipping packaging, which is common for transloading services.

What Is the Transloading Process?

Goods are shipped to a transloading facility, where they may become sorted and repackaged based on weight, size or destination. Workers then load the shipments onto a truck that takes them to the next mode of transportation, such as rail or boat. The shipment travels to the specific location, where the containers are either unloaded and stored in a warehouse or other facility or moved onto another vehicle for the final leg of the trip.

What Are the Benefits of Transloading?

Transloading offers a range of advantages, depending on the shipment and the destination. Shippers are able to use multiple methods of transportation, allowing them to pick the best routes for moving goods at the lowest prices. They have a larger pool of transportation companies to select from to receive quotes.

A transloading facility also provides you with a means of moving varied goods to similar locations. You can break down shipments of items and reconsolidate them when they are going to the same warehouse, retailer or end customer. This logistical method allows you to make fewer shipments that are going in the same transportation direction.

Lastly, when you are using multiple modes of transportation, you can reach more customers in other regions. You are able to expand your products into different markets, both national and global, without being hampered by distance.

Transloading logistics can streamline supply chains and helps business growth for your company. You are able to move shipments to where they have to go without being limited based on the mode of transportation. With careful planning and transportation consideration, you’re able to get shipments where they need to go with fewer restraints.