Freight transportation contributes significantly to local and regional economies in different countries all over the world. The United States is a good example of the economic advantage of freight transportation systems on a nation, due to the sector’s massive contribution to employment and job creation. According to Konings, Priemus, and Nijkamp (2008), in every ten jobs in the US, one of them is indirectly or directly related to transportation. At personal levels, many US citizens spend more on transportation, freight movement, and commuting than they do on recreation, clothing, and in household operations. Konings et al. (2008) argue that the US government should be the initiator of innovations in intermodal transport due to some limitations in the free market industries. Due to the complexity of the freight transportation sector, I tend to agree with the authors’ resolve.
Historically, it has been noted that the development of nuclear energy was a government initiative. The reason for this is the complexity and risk factors that come with the energy production sector (Bontekoning & Priemus, 2004). For instance, it would have been difficult for the free market industry to establish a dumpsite for radioactive waste. Similarly, nuclear materials would be a risk of great insecurity at the hands of the private sector since they could be diverted to terrorism or other uncontrolled activities. On the other hand, freight transportation systems are also as complex. Various environmental concerns come along with the freight transportation system and deemed to have the capacity of causing health hazards. According to Konings et al. (2008), diesel particles affect the lungs and the respiratory tracts. At this point, the government is charged with the responsibility of implementing transport policies aimd at controlling such negative impacts. The private sector is limited in the sense that it has no mandate of creating proactive policies to foster innovation in freight transportation.
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As the level of globalization increases, innovation and research on the transportation sector in the United States also increase. However, it is difficult to identify a coherent and consistent focus on the challenges that face intermodal transport. This is due to institutional diversity and the durability of transport operations, planning, and finance. The department of transportation (DOTs) supports the transportation research at a state level, which is aimed at enhancing and maintaining transportation operations (Konings et al., 2008). There is also the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), which enhances the research on intermodal transport innovations. Different challenges face intermodal innovations research in many countries in the world including the United States. Some of the major challenges include industry structure, geographical factors, and size. Secondly, there is the dynamics in private- government industries. Thirdly, there is the lack of distinction between the economic objectives of the nation and the success of the private industries (Bontekoning & Priemus, 2004).
Conclusively, government should be left with the mandate of initiating innovations in the freight transportation sector since private investors would only establish innovations that favor them regarding their profits and success. The private sector would also disregard the national economics for their own personal gains. Additionally, the private sector, if left to make policies on their own, may make policies that may be destructive to the sector (Bontekoning & Priemus, 2004). An example would be the transportation of illegal goods in the shipments or through other modes of transportations such as land transport. The private sector thrives better in unregulated operations since their profits are maximized. According to Konings et al. (2008), in the nineteenth century, the anti-price discrimination laws were enacted where price differentiation schemes were prevented in railroads.
- Bontekoning, Y., & Priemus, H. (2004). Breakthrough innovations in intermodal freight transport. Transportation Planning and Technology, 27(5), 335-345.
- Konings, J. W., Priemus, H., & Nijkamp, P. (Eds.). (2008). The future of intermodal freight transport: Operations, design and policy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
