Transportation (Multimodal)

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• Multimodal transportation is the movement of cargo in containers from an origin point in one country to a destination point in another country, through the use of any combination of two or more modes of transport (such as by air, rail, road or ship), in which only one carrier is utilized for all modes of transport, operating under only one bill of lading (BoL) – thus differentiating multimodal transportation from intermodal transportation, in which several carriers are utilized (generally each carrier transports in only one mode), and each carrier operates under a separate bill of lading (BoL).

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• Representation for: air carriers; air freight forwarders; consignees; distributors; dock services companies; exporters; freight intermediaries; importers; intermodal marketing companies IMCs); maritime carriers; motor carriers; ocean freight forwarders; port authorities; rail carriers; shippers; surface freight forwarders; transportation brokers; non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs); warehousing entities.

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• Negotiating and drafting various agreements, contracts, documents and templates related directly to multimodal transportation practice, such as for: air charter; air forwarding; air waybill; asset management; block space; broker-carrier; broker/co-broker intermodal transport; broker-shipper; collateral access; cross-docking; courier services; customs brokerage; distribution; dock services; drayage (such as for moving an intermodal container from truck to railroad platform, or vice versa); drayage intermodal; driver sourcing; equipment interchange; equipment lease; equipment rental; equipment sourcing; export forwarder; export services; freight forwarding; global services; fulfillment services; import services; independent contractor; indirect air carrier; intermodal (individual for same project) BoLs; intermodal services; land waybill; last mile operations; MARAD Voluntary Intermodal Sealift (VISA); master intermodal (MIA); middle mile operations; motor carrier services; motor carries/shipper; operator-owner; pick & pack; port-terminal operation; port partnership; sea waybill; safety management; shipper-carrier; Streamline intermodal SLIA); supply chain management; uniform intermodal interchange and facilities access (UIIA); warehousing.

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• Compliance with domestic Federal and state, and international, administrative agencies, frameworks, guidelines, laws, recommendations, regulations, rules and statutes, related directly to multimodal transportation practice, such as the: 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1090-1099 – Intermodal Transportation; American Trucking Association (ATA); Association of American Railroads (AAR); Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA); Carmack Amendment; Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT); Defense Base Act (DBA); European Union (EU) Combined Transport Directive (92/106/EEC) of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States; Federal Maritime Commission (FMC); Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA); Federal Trade Commission (FTC); Intermodal Association of North America (IANA); International Organization for Standardization (ISO); Intermodal Safe Container Transportation Act (ISCTA); Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA); Intermodal Transportation Advisory Board (ITAB); Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA); Maritime Administration (MARAD); National Industrial Transportation League (NITL); National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA); Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU); Shipping Act (SA); Surface Transportation Board (STB); Transportation Infrastructure Financing Innovations Act (TIFIA); Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA); Transportation Security Administration (TSA); US Coast Guard (USCG); War Hazards Compensation Act (WHCA).

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• Management of typical tasks related to multimodal transportation practice, such as: acquisitions; antitrust; cargo claims; environmental claims; freight charge disputes; freight intermediary issues; insurance coverage disputes; labor issues; licensing; mergers; permitting; regulatory matters; restructurings; subrogation; transportation contracting; unionizing; vehicular casualty work; warehouse contracting.

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• Any multimodal shipping agreement that includes any element of transportation by rail should, at a minimum, include: a reasonably-detailed itemization of the individual items in the shipment; who bears risk of loss (ROL) on every segment of the trip; limitation of liability (LOL) on every segment of the trip; over-dimension surcharge; required insurance for both parties from origin point to destination point, and at all points in-between; standard terms and conditions (Ts & Cs – such as: altered movement of tendered shipment; assignment; choice of law; combination rate charges; contact information for each party; domestic storage; flip charges; force majeure; hazardous materials – hazmat – surcharge; indemnification; intermodal container transfer facility – ICTF – gate fee;  international storage; payment; mis-describing penalties – such as, for example: for specifying the incorrect weight of the container or shipment; mis-describing the contents of a container or shipment, or describing a domestic shipment as an international shipment, or describing a hazmat shipment as freight of all kinds – FAK; schedule of milestone dates; venue; violations of metal products conditions; violation of prohibited articles regulations; violations of restricted articles prohibitions; use of rail carrier’s US Customs bond; and the like); the various duties of the rail carrier on every segment of the trip (such as: what mode of motor transport – such as container carrier or tractor-trailer truck – should be engaged to get the shipment from the location point to the train loading point; who is responsible for unloading the shipment from the mode of transport onto the train well car (if a container) or rail car – whether the shipment is contained in containers or must unloaded and loaded onto the train as various individual items by hand; coupling or uncoupling of particular rail cars during transit; unloading/reloading/unloading of various containers or rail cars during transit; unloading at the final rail terminus point; what mode of motor transport – such as container carrier or tractor-trailer truck – should be engaged to get the shipment from the final rail terminus point to the final destination point; who unloads the container or shipment at the final destination point).

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    PROGRESS DRAFT - Last updated 210601_0004