b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comIntermodal transportation continues to evolve after 35 years of serviceBy Debra Phillips, AJOTThe intermodal transpor- have positioned J.B. Hunt as tationindustryhaschangedaleaderinadvancinginter-significantly since the 1950s,modal transportation.whentruckingentrepreneur Malcolm McLean created thef orward -t hinkingmodernintermodalshippinga pproaChcontainer.Today,theU.S.J.B. Hunt handled its first intermodalmarket,encom- intermodal shipment 35 years passingfreightmovedviaago,amovethatcombined Aerial view of the BNSF Railway Salt Lake City Intermodal Facility, Utah multiplemodes(truck,rail,the efficiency of rail with the BNSF Railway Salt Lake Cityship) in containers or trailers,flexibility of trucking. At the is a significant segment of thetime, rail and trucking were transportation industry.competitors,sotheideaof intermodal open for business While exact figures fluc- workingtogethercollabora-tuate, the market is estimatedtively was revolutionary. tobevaluedataround$51The partnership that J.B. BNSF,PatriotLineandUtahInlandPortAuthority(UIPA)openbillion,withasubstantialHunt formed with the Santa Phase 1 of a new intermodal complex in Salt Lake City. number of facilities support- Fe Railroad, now BNSF, was ing this activity, according toone of the first in the industry. By Chris Barnett, AJOT the Intermodal Association ofIn 1989, the two companies North America.collaboration ledtothecre-AdecadelongcollaborationbetweenCityIntermodalFacility,UtahGov.Spen- AnagentforchangeinationofQuantumIntermo-two of Americas most innovative railroads cerCoxsaidweknewthefutureofUtahtheevolutionofintermodaldal Service, the first modern BNSF Railway and Patriot Lineand Utahsdepended on a strong manufacturing sector transportationisJ.B.Hunt.intermodal service. leadingtransportationandtopstateofficialsand the ability to transport goodsand thatOneofthelargestsupplyTogether,thetwocom-has paid off with the opening of phase one ofiswhatwearedoinghere.Everycontainerchainsolutionsprovidersinpaniespioneeredtheuseof a 43-acre intermodal complex on Utah InlandthatreachesUtahmoreefficientlymeansNorth America, the companysdouble-stackcontainers,a Port Authority (UIPA) land five miles west ofmoreopportunitiesforourruralproducers,forward-thinking approach, stra- crucial step that dramatically the Salt Lake City. our urban manufacturers and the workers whotegicpartnerships,andcon- improvedthecapacityand At a recent ribbon cutting for what is offi- keep our state running. tinuedpursuitofinnovation(EVOLVEcontinued on cially known as the BNSF Railway Salt Lake(OPENcontinued on page 15) to enhance customer servicepage 8)'