A wheeled undercarriage or trailer frame designed to carry an intermodal container over the road. Chassis are lifted onto or off of the container and are a critical piece of drayage equipment. Detention charges apply when chassis are held beyond the allowed free time at a shipper's facility.
A standardized steel box (typically 20, 40, 45, 48, or 53 feet in length) that can be transferred between ships, trains, and trucks without unloading the contents. Containers conform to ISO or domestic standards and are the fundamental unit of intermodal logistics. Their standardization revolutionized global freight economics.
A charge levied when intermodal equipment such as chassis or containers is held beyond the allowed free time at a shipper or consignee's facility. Detention applies specifically to intermodal assets at non-railroad locations, differentiating it from demurrage. Both charges encourage efficient equipment utilization.
An intermodal service in which an over-the-road highway trailer is loaded directly onto a flatcar for the rail portion of a move, sometimes called piggyback. TOFC allows door-to-door service with standard trailers and is used where containers are not available or practical. It has largely been supplanted by COFC double-stack service on high-density lanes.
An intermodal service in which ISO or domestic containers are loaded onto well cars or flatcars, often double-stacked, for the rail portion of a move. COFC is the dominant form of intermodal rail service in North America and enables double-stack efficiency. Containers are transferred between trucks and trains at intermodal terminals.