Intermodal freight transport: The infrastructure must be right – Why intermodal freight transport often fails at the terminal

Freight by rail? Why dilapidated infrastructure is only half the story

Intermodal freight transport is considered the great savior of the modern economy: climate-friendly, efficient, and the saving grace for fragile global supply chains. But while policymakers set ambitious targets for shifting freight from road to rail, the vision often clashes harshly with reality. The reason lies in a massive bottleneck: infrastructure. This is no longer just about a lack of tracks or congested ports. The real challenge—and simultaneously the crucial key to success—lies within the terminals and logistics centers. If highly complex intralogistics, automated high-bay warehouses, and state-of-the-art storage and retrieval systems don't communicate seamlessly with external goods flows, the entire system falters. This detailed analysis shows why standards alone don't create functioning supply chains, why the shortage of skilled workers necessitates automation, and why the holistic systems thinking of specialized general contractors is more indispensable than ever.

Anyone who thinks logistics is easy has never seen the inside of a terminal

Intermodal freight transport is considered one of the key answers to the challenges of the modern economy: increasing transport volumes, growing cost pressures, stricter climate targets, and fragile global supply chains. The underlying concept is as compelling as it is complex – goods are transported in a single standardized loading unit, such as a container or swap body, across multiple modes of transport without the need to repack or reload the goods themselves. Road, rail, inland waterways, and sea combine to form a system that optimally leverages the strengths of each individual mode: the flexibility of trucks for last-mile delivery, the capacity and climate-friendliness of rail on long-distance routes, and the mass transport capabilities of ships on major waterways.

However, between the promise of this concept and its reliable, economically viable implementation in practice, there is a gap that is far larger than it initially appears. This gap has a name: infrastructure. And it affects not only railways, roads, and ports, but also, and perhaps even more profoundly, the internal logistics of the warehouses, terminals, and distribution centers that keep the flow of goods alive.

Figures that make you sit up and take notice – the market in a global context

The intermodal freight market is one of the most dynamic growth markets within the entire logistics industry. The global market size was estimated at approximately US$82.2 billion for 2023, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 9 percent through 2032. The sub-market of intermodal transport hubs alone – the actual transshipment points between different modes of transport – was valued at US$47.58 billion for 2024 and is projected to grow to over US$114 billion by 2034. These figures reflect a fundamental shift in the global freight transport architecture, driven by the booming e-commerce sector, the expansion of free trade agreements, and the increasing pressure to decarbonize the transport sector.

In Europe, this growth trend takes on a particularly political dimension. The EU has set itself the goal of increasing the market share of rail freight by 50 percent by 2030 and doubling it by 2050. The European Green Deal demands a drastic shift away from road transport, and the European Commission already set the target in 2011 that 30 percent of road freight transport over 300 kilometers should be shifted to other modes of transport by 2030. For Germany, which, with a share of 25 to 30 percent of all EU transshipment terminals, represents the central hub of continental intermodal transport, this means an unprecedented effort.

However, a critical look behind the scenes of these ambitious objectives reveals a structural dilemma: Despite EU investments of around €1.1 billion in intermodal projects between 2014 and 2020, the European Court of Auditors reached the sobering conclusion in a special report in 2023 that intermodal freight transport still cannot compete on a level playing field with road freight transport due to obstacles in legislation and infrastructure. The targets were unrealistic, member states pursued their own uncoordinated paths, and the infrastructure simply did not keep pace with political ambition.

The system and its units – more than just containers

To understand why intermodal logistics is so demanding, one must consider the foundation upon which it rests: the loading unit. In intermodal transport, the goods remain in the same physical unit – the container, the swap body, or the craneable semi-trailer – from sender to recipient. This principle sounds trivial, but it is technically and legally highly complex.

ISO containers, standardized according to the ISO series of standards, enable seamless transshipment between ships, trains, and trucks worldwide. In continental European transport, CEN-standardized swap bodies and craneable semi-trailers are also primarily used, identified by the European ILU code (Intermodal Loading Unit) according to EN 13044. The ILU code is structurally similar to the worldwide BIC code for ISO containers, creating at least formal compatibility between the systems – a step that was only taken after decades of discussion. Standardization alone does not create a system. Interoperability between different modes of transport also depends on uniform regulations for load securing, the compatibility of handling equipment, and the reliability of the physical infrastructure.

The typical process of intermodal transport illustrates where the critical transfer points lie: A truck picks up the goods from the shipper, transports them to the next terminal, where a crane lifts the loading unit onto a freight train. At the destination station, another truck takes over for the last mile. At each of these transfer points, the infrastructure must function precisely – the terminal must check the shipping documents, verify the safety requirements of rail transport, operate the transshipment facility, and adhere to the time slots. If even one link in this chain fails, the entire system is thrown into disarray.

Where infrastructure fails – a ruthless assessment

The reality of intermodal infrastructure in Europe is characterized by profound imbalances. According to the latest European Parliament study from 2025, while rail infrastructure is available at 87 to 93 percent of all terminals surveyed, inland waterway transport is accessible at only 21 to 24 percent. Other modes of transport, such as the rolling highway, short-sea shipping, and ferry services, continue to play a negligible role. Furthermore, the distribution of terminals is structurally uneven: Germany has the densest network on the one hand, while large parts of Southeast and Eastern Europe have significant gaps.

Added to this are the chronic deficiencies in the linear infrastructure – that is, the tracks themselves. Combined transport is still considered slow, complicated, and expensive in many sectors of industry, especially over short distances of less than 300 kilometers. Construction sites, aging infrastructure, and a structural underinvestment problem in the rail network significantly hinder its competitiveness compared to trucks. The state monopoly on the rail network and the notorious overruns of budgets and schedules in infrastructure projects contribute to the system not delivering the performance it could theoretically achieve. When a corridor is closed for weeks due to construction work, freight flows shift back to the roads – and do not return so quickly.

The CO2 savings potential of intermodal transport is so significant that failing to address the infrastructure issue is ecologically unacceptable. Compared to pure truck transport, combined transport emits up to 90 percent less CO2, depending on the route. According to Deutsche Bahn, a truck emits around 119 grams of CO2 equivalents per ton-kilometer, while a freight train emits only about 20 grams. This corresponds to a reduction of almost 84 percent. In light of these figures, fully exploiting the modal shift potential is not only an economic but also a climate policy imperative.

The invisible infrastructure – what happens inside the terminals

Focusing on publicly visible infrastructure deficiencies often obscures a second, less visible dimension of the problem: the internal logistics of terminals, warehouses, and distribution centers. Intermodal freight transport doesn't end at the train station. It begins or ends in high-bay warehouses, order picking centers, and automated logistics centers, which themselves represent complex technical systems.

At this interface between external transport and internal storage, it is decided whether the flow of goods is seamless or whether costly waiting times and shortages occur. A loading unit that arrives at the terminal on time but cannot be smoothly integrated into the downstream high-bay warehouse becomes the bottleneck of the entire supply chain. This is the point at which intralogistics can no longer be treated as a downstream issue, but becomes an integral part of intermodal system planning.

The integration between Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Material Flow Computers (MFCs), conveyor technology, and higher-level Transport Management Systems is highly complex. Different software systems and proprietary interfaces regularly lead to incompatibility between the central IT systems and the warehouse equipment. Standards like VDA 5050, which aim to enable manufacturer-independent integration of various types of industrial trucks, are an important step in the right direction, but system integration remains one of the biggest challenges in modern intralogistics. Automation creates efficiency – but only if it is based on well-designed processes, qualified personnel, and realistic performance expectations.

The heart of the warehouse – why storage and retrieval machines are not a commodity

Inside automated logistics centers, storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) are the central moving elements. They transport pallets or containers with high precision and speed to and from racks up to 40 meters high. These machines must operate flawlessly for decades, because in a fully automated high-bay warehouse, a single defective SRM can bring the entire operation to a standstill. The demands on manufacturing quality, material precision, and long-term maintainability are therefore extremely high.

Not every logistics company and not every plant manufacturer is capable of meeting these requirements. This is precisely where the positioning of specialist providers like LTW Intralogistics from Wolfurt in Vorarlberg, Austria, comes in. LTW was founded in 1981 and has been part of the Doppelmayr Group, the world market leader in ropeway construction, since its inception. This affiliation with the group is not a marketing argument, but a fundamental aspect of production technology: LTW's storage and retrieval machines are manufactured according to ropeway standards.

What does that mean in concrete terms? Cable cars must reliably transport people for decades under extreme conditions – cold, wind, mechanical stress. Manufacturing tolerances are exceptionally tight, quality assurance is seamless, and the materials used are consistently certified. LTW applies these standards to its intralogistics components. Even at heights of 40 meters and more, sophisticated designs and extremely tight manufacturing tolerances ensure precise material handling. At the Doppelmayr Group's production plant, over 250 employees work in three shifts across more than 24,000 square meters, processing over 30,000 tons of steel annually – for both cable cars and stacker cranes.

LTW Intralogistics Solutions – Intermodal Transport – Image: LTW Intralogistics GmbH

LTW offers its customers not individual components, but integrated complete solutions. Consulting, planning, mechanical and electrotechnical components, control and automation technology, as well as software and service – everything is networked and precisely coordinated.

In-house production of key components is particularly advantageous. This allows for optimal control of quality, supply chains, and interfaces.

LTW stands for reliability, transparency, and collaborative partnership. Loyalty and honesty are firmly anchored in the company's philosophy – a handshake still means something here.

Related to this:

• LTW Solutions

From medium-sized businesses to 100,000-parking centers – the specialist's range

LTW positions itself as a full-service provider and general contractor for turnkey intralogistics systems. The range extends from medium-sized projects with a few hundred pallet spaces to fully automated logistics centers with over 100,000 storage locations. In addition to classic high-bay warehouses, the portfolio includes deep-freeze warehouses, climate-controlled high-bay warehouses constructed of wood, and all necessary components for material flow: conveyor technology, transfer cars, vertical conveyors, and the associated control software.

To date, LTW has successfully implemented over 750 projects worldwide with more than 2,000 storage and retrieval machines. Reference customers include companies such as EGGER Holzwerkstoffe, Continental Barum, Fresenius Medical Care, and a number of well-known food retailers and manufacturers. The tenor of customer feedback is consistently similar: what is convincing is the reliability of the system throughout its entire lifecycle – not just the quality of the commissioning, but the consistent availability over years and decades. For example, the company 11er Nahrungsmittel described the result of a system retrofit by saying that the system ran so flawlessly after the upgrade that employees hardly knew how to deal with a malfunction anymore.

Integration into the Doppelmayr Group ensures more than just manufacturing quality. It guarantees continuity. LTW is one of the few companies in the intralogistics sector that can look back on over 40 years of history as part of a stable corporate group. In an industry where system failures can cause massive economic damage and where equipment lifecycles span decades, this long-term presence is not an end in itself, but a tangible mark of quality.

The general contractor approach – why not every logistics company can do it

The real strength of specialist suppliers like LTW lies not only in the manufacturing quality of individual components, but in their ability to plan, integrate, and deliver complex, turnkey systems. The general contractor approach means that a single supplier assumes responsibility for the entire project – from the initial needs analysis and plant design to the procurement and manufacturing of components, software integration, commissioning, and ongoing service.

This sounds obvious, but it isn't. Coordinating a fully automated high-bay warehouse requires in-depth expertise in mechanical design, electrical engineering, control engineering, software architecture, and process planning – all within a single, integrated system tailored to the customer's specific logistics requirements. Data literacy, the ability to integrate with existing system landscapes, and process understanding are just as crucial as the technology itself. Systems that are technologically sophisticated but built on poorly designed processes or inadequate data foundations are destined to fail.

That's precisely why LTW elicited the following response from Continental Barum: The customer provided the key data – number of items, throughput, peak periods – and LTW ensured optimal implementation. This division of labor is the specialist's promise: The customer must know what they want; the supplier must know how to deliver it. The increasing complexity of modern logistics centers, the growing variety of goods to be stored, and the ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the logistics sector are making it increasingly difficult to develop and retain this expertise internally.

Skills shortage as a systemic risk

The shortage of skilled workers in the logistics sector is a structural problem that puts pressure on the entire intermodal transport value chain. A survey of members of the German Logistics Association (BVL) revealed that 90 percent of the companies surveyed consider the shortage of skilled workers a key problem. In road freight transport alone, Germany was short more than 70,000 truck drivers in 2023, resulting in additional costs to the economy of around €10 billion. Demographic change is exacerbating the problem: By 2040, the number of people of working age in Germany will decrease by 18 percent, while the number of people of retirement age will increase by almost 30 percent.

For intralogistics, this means that automation is no longer just a matter of increasing efficiency, but a key lever in addressing the labor shortage. Fully automated high-bay warehouses that operate without constant manual intervention relieve the burden on staff and enable higher throughput with fewer employees. Fraunhofer IML confirms that the shortage of skilled workers extends across all functional areas of logistics, making digital and automated alternatives increasingly essential.

However, automation creates new dependencies and new qualification requirements. Anyone operating a fully automated high-bay warehouse no longer needs unskilled warehouse workers – but they do need technicians who can understand, maintain, and further develop the system. The danger lies in building highly complex systems that automate standard processes but create new qualification gaps and system dependencies. A system provider who not only sells the equipment to its customers but also supports the operating organization in developing the necessary skills is therefore more valuable than a mere technology supplier.

The digital dimension – networking as a prerequisite for system integration

No intermodal transport system or automated high-bay warehouse can function without a robust digital infrastructure. The increasing prevalence of AI, machine learning, autonomous tracking systems, and digital twins is fundamentally changing the performance of modern logistics chains. Modern intermodal hubs utilize advanced digital interfaces to ensure seamless integration. Real-time data on goods flows, slot management for terminals, predictive maintenance for stacker cranes, and dynamic route planning are no longer a vision of the future, but rather state-of-the-art technology at leading logistics centers.

The challenge lies in integrating these digital systems across company boundaries. A transport management system that doesn't communicate with the warehouse management system, which in turn isn't networked with the conveyor technology, doesn't create synergies – but rather data silos. The flow of information must be synchronized with the physical flow of materials, from order placement at the supplier to delivery to the end customer. At eleven economically significant terminals, which the European Commission has specifically supported with funds from the Connecting Europe Facility and EU-cofinanced projects, a wide range of advanced logistics technologies has been implemented – proof that the gap between ambition and reality can, in principle, be closed.

Sustainability as a competitive factor and regulatory imperative

Decarbonizing freight transport is no longer a voluntary commitment, but a regulatory imperative with direct economic consequences. Companies that fail to invest in intermodal, rail-based transport solutions today risk higher CO2 levies, lower ESG ratings, and increasingly critical scrutiny from their customers and investors. At the same time, energy efficiency in intralogistics—through grid regeneration concepts, weight optimization of storage and retrieval machines, and energy-efficient drive systems—offers economically attractive savings potential.

LTW, for example, explicitly pursues the approach of reducing energy costs during operation through weight-optimized designs of its storage and retrieval machines: Every ton of steel saved saves energy with every pallet movement. Climate-certified high-bay warehouses built using timber construction are a further expression of this philosophy – a concept that reduces the ecological footprint of the warehouse itself while simultaneously enabling a differentiated market positioning.

Why specialists are indispensable – systems thinking as a crucial skill

The central argument of this text can be summarized in one sentence: Intermodal freight transport is not a standard product that can be bought off the shelf. It is a complex, multifaceted system whose performance depends on the quality of each individual link – from the reliability of the rail infrastructure to the precision of the handling equipment at the terminal and the responsiveness of the high-bay warehouse at goods receiving.

Anyone planning, building, and operating this system needs more than just technical expertise in one specific area. They need the ability to think about the entire system: to understand and coordinate the interactions between modes of transport, terminal capacities, storage concepts, and information flows. This ability is rare in the industry and cannot be acquired through short-term projects or standard software implementations. It arises from decades of experience, a profound understanding of the physical limitations of materials and machinery, and the courage to assume overall responsibility instead of fragmenting it.

This systems-oriented thinking is precisely what distinguishes specialists like LTW from general logistics providers. The difference lies not in the catalog of products offered, but in the depth of their process understanding, the quality of their planning, and their willingness to deliver turnkey systems that function flawlessly in everyday use – not just on the acceptance protocol. A high-bay warehouse that starts up on startup and runs smoothly for years is not something to be taken for granted. It is the result of meticulous work by specialists who know what they are doing.

Where the journey is going and who is coming along

The growth forecasts for intermodal freight transport are clear: the market will continue to grow, driven by political climate targets, increasing transport volumes, and structural pressure on road infrastructure. According to forecasts by SCI Verkehr, intermodal rail freight in Europe will grow at a CAGR of 1.8 percent until 2030, with maritime hinterland transport benefiting from rising import volumes and the growing importance of efficient rail connections to seaports.

According to Roland Berger, to increase the market share of freight railways in Germany to at least 25 percent by 2030, total investments of 52 billion euros are necessary – a program that would fundamentally transform the system's performance if consistently implemented. Crucial to its success will be whether infrastructure investments in the network flow not only into linear infrastructure, i.e., tracks and bridges, but also into terminal hubs and – last but not least – into intralogistics systems at the interfaces between external and internal logistics.

Companies and service providers investing in the quality and reliability of their intralogistics systems today are positioning themselves for a future where intermodal logistics is no longer the exception, but the norm. And in this future, specialists – providers who not only sell a product but are responsible for an entire system – will be among the strategically indispensable partners in the logistics value chain. The infrastructure must be sound – both externally and internally.

Konrad Wolfenstein

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