Multimodal transportation, logistics, and the environment: managing interactions in a global economy

As transportation and logistics systems continue to integrate, their impacts on the physical environment (air, water, and land resources) will become more complex. Economic globalization, agile manufacturing, speed-to-market delivery, and supply chain management are creating greater demand for intermodal transportation services and multimodal transportation infrastructure. Coping with the environmental impacts will require the transportation industry and its customers and stakeholders to move from strategies based on regulatory compliance to those emphasizing proactive environmental management. Proactive management of environmental issues requires corporations to identify: (1) the interactions among transportation activities that have negative environmental impacts, (2) the types of environmental impacts emanating from transportation operations and facilities, and (3) alternative means of controlling and preventing environmental pollution and natural resource degradation.