Inland terminals within North American and European supply chains

The growing focus on inland/dry ports is indicative of transport development strategies gradually shifting inland to address capacity and efficiency issues in the light of global supply chains. The complexity of modern freight distribution, the increased focus on intermodal transport solutions and capacity issues appear to be the main drivers. The larger volumes of flows in networks, through a concentration of cargo on a limited set of ports of call and associated trunk lines to the hinterland, have also created the right conditions for nodes to appear along and at the end of these trunk lines. In the light of technological, market and supply chain changes, this paper looks at how inland terminals play a role in the organization of regional freight distribution. The first part aims at discussing the number of functions played by inland terminals, from satellite to gateway terminals to inland load centres. The following sections look at inland terminals as elements of regional freight distribution systems, gateways and corridors. These sections also investigate the various means used by supply chain managers to use inland terminals in their freight distribution strategies