Coordination of Intermodal Transport in Yangtze River Economic Belt in China Based on the Fourth-Party Logistics

Abstract

With the deepening of economic integration, intermodal transport has become a central issue worldwide in recent years. China also pays great attention to this issue and promotes the development of intermodal transport in Yangtze River Economic Belt in China. However, the coordination of intermodal transport is a multi-sector, multi-agent and multi-mode process and some problems emerge in the development of intermodal transport in Yangtze River Economic Belt. This paper aims to provide some advice for the improvement of intermodal transport in this region. This study first identifies the barriers to the development of intermodal transport from the aspects of policies, actors, terminals, transshipment services, and information systems. In addition, this study proposes that 4PL can promote standardization, coordination, utilization and innovation of information in the intermodal chain. Furthermore, this paper tries to design the 4PL platform and makes suggestions for the development of the 4PL platform in Yangtze River Economic Belt. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is required to enact some supporting policies to encourage 4PL to play the role of coordinator in the intermodal chain.