Adaptive Intermodal Transportation for Freight Resilience: An Integrated and Flexible Strategy for Managing Disruptions

Siyavash Filom (), Satrya Dewantara, Mahnam Saeednia and Saiedeh Razavi
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Siyavash Filom: Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Satrya Dewantara: Civil Engineering and Geosciences, TU Delft, 2629 HS Delft, The Netherlands
Mahnam Saeednia: Civil Engineering and Geosciences, TU Delft, 2629 HS Delft, The Netherlands
Saiedeh Razavi: Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada

Logistics, 2025, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-33

Abstract: Background : Disruptions in freight transportation—such as service delays, infrastructure failures, and labor strikes—pose significant challenges to the reliability and efficiency of intermodal networks. To address these challenges, this study introduces Adaptive Intermodal Transportation (AIT), a resilient and flexible planning framework that enhances Synchromodal Freight Transport (SFT) by integrating real-time disruption management. Methods : Building on recent advances, we propose two novel strategies: (1) Reassign with Delay Buffer, which enables dynamic rerouting of shipments within a user-defined delay tolerance, and (2) (De)Consolidation, which allows splitting or merging of shipments across services depending on available capacity. These strategies are incorporated into a re-planning module that complements a baseline optimization model and a continuous disruption-monitoring system. Numerical experiments conducted on a Great Lakes-based case study evaluate the performance of the proposed strategies against a benchmark approach. Results : Results show that under moderate and high-disruption conditions, the proposed strategies reduce delay and disruption-incurred costs while increasing the percentage of matched shipments. The Reassign with Delay Buffer strategy offers controlled flexibility, while (De)Consolidation improves resource utilization in constrained environments. Conclusions : Overall, the AIT framework demonstrates strong potential for improving operational resilience in intermodal freight systems by enabling adaptive, disruption-aware planning decisions.

Keywords: adaptive intermodal transportation; freight resilience; disruption management; (De)Consolidation strategy; delay buffer; optimization modeling; great lakes region; multimodal network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 L80 L81 L86 L87 L9 L90 L91 L92 L93 L98 L99 M1 M10 M11 M16 M19 R4 R40 R41 R49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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