Intermodalism, supply chains and U.S. security

Covid 19 and related global events have dramatically highlighted the many vulnerabilities that Supply Chain (SC) transportation systems still possess despite the myriad measures implemented by the U.S. government and the vast literature that analyzes the problems and issues that they confront. This paper seeks to analyze the reasons for this failure and the extent to which the academic and professional literature has identified issues that were not dealt with adequately by policy makers in the private and public sectors. It, therefore, begins with an analysis of the intermodal character of SC transportation systems, the internal and external challenges that these intermodal systems confront and the policies that the U.S. has adopted to enhance their security. The focus then turns to an assessment of how three bodies of relevant literature, (1) SC risk management, (2) the security of S.C. transportation systems, and (3) intermodal transportation specifically, have focused on the particular issues raised for SC security by intermodalism. In order to assess their contributions, the level of security that U.S. intermodal systems have achieved and the challenges that remain are analyzed. The paper concludes with a consideration of the areas and ways in which further scholarly attention could contribute to increasing security and help US supply chain intermodal systems survive future risks more effectively.