1. Modes of Transportation in
Supply Chain
Trey Lynn
Brigham Young University
BusM 361
Professor S. Tom Foster

2. Agenda
• Transportation defined
• Modes of transportation
• Strengths and weaknesses of each mode
• Pricing

3. Transportation
• means of conveyance or travel (of goods
and services) from one place to another

4. Modes of Transportation
• Motor
• Air
• Rail
• Water
• Pipeline
• Intermodal

5. Motor (Trucking)
• 1970’s – economic deregulation of
interstate traffic
• Lower costs
• Accessibility
• Small, frequent shipments

6. Trucking
• Disadvantages
– Speed
– Capacity
– Range

7. Air
• Premium transportation
• Speed delivery
• Range

8. Air
• Disadvantages
– Price
– Non-direct points
– Add-on charges
– Necessary?

9. Rail
• Lowest overall cost
per unit weight
• Consistent time
schedule
• Recommended with
most commodity types
• Weather

10. Rail
• Disadvantages
– Inflexibility
– Potential damage of goods
– Ineffective with small shipments

11. Water (Ships)
• Large volumes
• Long distances
• Slower than air travel
• Limited access

12. Pipeline
• Transport of homogeneous
materials
• Lower transportation costs than
other modes
• Higher initial costs
• Unable to transport a variety of
materials

13. Intermodal
• Use of various transportation
modes
• Containers
• More popular due to
globalization

14. Pricing
• Handling characteristics
• Distance freight is moved
• Weight of freight
• Costs inversely related to speed of service