Intermodal freight terminals: An analysis of the terminal market

Intermodality has become a major goal in modern transport policy. The impro vement of combined transport within the European Union includes the refinem ent of freight terminal services. A freight terminal is a nodal place where goods are transhipped between any two or more transport modes. In this pap er we describe and analyse the freight terminal market with the help of Por ter's model of five competitive forces. The central question is: who are th e stakeholders in the terminal market? We will particularly address the cri tical decision factors faced by terminal operators in terms of strategic im portance, location and network configuration of freight terminals by employ ing Porter's competitive focus. First, the industry competitors in the frei ght terminal market will be analysed. Second, the buyers of the freight ter minal services will be described, followed by the suppliers of the terminal infrastructure. Other competitive forces are the potential entrants into t he terminal market and the substitutes for the use of freight terminals. An additional competitive force is added to our conceptual model in the form of the terminal environment. After the outline of this analytical framework of the freight terminal market, it is possible to identify where the econo mic power is located in the terminal market and how the positions of the di fferent players in the market can be enhanced. The analysis will further ad dress (de)regulation competences for different governmental levels involved in terminal activities.