Intermodal Driving
Topic 30833 | Page 1
Intermodal spends all their time in rail yards dealing with containers, personally I wouldn't want to deal with those headaches.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I'm not a fan either. I've been to the rail yard bunches of times and it never goes smoothly. There's always a problem with the chassis. It has a flat tire, it's leading air, they didn't drop the container on it properly so it's lopsided... I even had one chassis missing a shoe on the landing gear. There have also been times where I've found my container and it's on the ground. I have to go find a chassis and then find a supervisor to get the guy with crane come to lift the container.
Intermodal is based at a rail yard or a port. They usually have a 150 mile delivery radius. Drivers are at the mercy of the railroad or port and they don't care about how long it takes you to get loaded. Time is always tight because at the end of the day if they drop an empty at the railyard/port and only have 3 hours left on their clock that day they have to shut down because they won't have enough time to make a delivery and return an empty. That can be the difference between a $200 day or a $300 day so they tend to drive aggressively and make some unsafe choices. The scariest drivers in my neck of the woods (in order):
1. Log trucks 2. Intermodal drivers 3. Amazon
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
The scariest drivers in my neck of the woods (in order):
1. Log trucks 2. Intermodal drivers 3. Amazon
Yup, I'd have to agree with this.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
Don't forget 10 Roads, Fed X, and the hotshots.
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I've noticed that Intermodal driving is not mentioned very much. What are the main differences between Intermodal and flatbed/refer/dry van?
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.