Role of Intermodality in Global Sourcing and Offshore Outsourcing: Maritime Transport and New Rail Connections between Europe and Asia

The paper deals with the technical possibility of using railway connections between Europe and Asia - by way of the rail links under renewal in relation also with some United Nations’ plans - for changing the commercial relationships between the two continents. Maritime transport has already undertaken, in the last years, different relationships, which elude in many connections the Suez Canal, therefore possibly the Mediterranean Sea; valorising the global sourcing and the offshore outsourcing in the vision of the Europe-Russia-Western and Eastern Asia new relationships by rail may reconfigure a renewed and faster international transport of goods as well as create commercial corridors based on trains beside full-container ships: these have, on their side, distinguished the last half century of freight, mainly thanks to standardisation of the loading units and given energy reasons. According to the authors, the economical outcomes are well worth devoting commercial and offshore outsourcing attention