# Transloading

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{{Short description|Shipment transfer to different mode of transport}}
{{Hatnote|For the data downloading process, see [sideloading](/source/sideloading).}}

{{more citations needed|date=May 2009}}
thumb|A transloading facility in Texas, between rail and road transport
'''Transloading''', also known as '''cross-docking''', is the process of transferring a [shipment](/source/shipment) from one mode of [transportation](/source/transportation) to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, such as when goods must be shipped internationally from one inland point to another. Such a trip might require transport by [truck](/source/truck) to an [airport](/source/airport), then by [airplane](/source/airplane) overseas, and then by another truck to its destination; or it might involve bulk material (such as [coal](/source/coal)) loaded to [rail](/source/Hopper_car) at the [mine](/source/Mining) and then transferred to a [ship](/source/ship) at a [port](/source/port). Transloading is also required at railroad [break-of-gauge](/source/break_of_gauge) points, since the equipment can not pass from one track to another unless [bogies are exchanged](/source/Bogie_exchange).

Since transloading requires handling of the goods, it causes a higher risk of damage. Therefore, transloading facilities are designed with the intent of minimizing handling. Due to differing capacities of the different modes, the facilities typically require some storage facility, such as [warehouse](/source/warehouse)s or [rail yard](/source/rail_yard)s. For bulk goods, specialized material handling and storage are typically provided (as, for example, in [grain elevator](/source/grain_elevator)s). [Intermodal](/source/Intermodal_freight_transport) transport limits handling by using standardized [containers](/source/containerization), which are handled as units and which also serve for storage if needed.

==Transloading versus transshipment==
Transloading may be confused with [transshipment](/source/transshipment), but in modern [usage](/source/usage) they represent different concepts. Transloading concerns the mechanics of transport, while transshipment is essentially a legal term addressing how the shipment originates and is destined.<ref>{{cite web|title=Transloading - An Important Component of Modern Supply Chains |url=https://northfieldmed.com/blog/transloading-important-modern-supply-chains|publisher = Northfield|language=en|access-date=2022-09-30}}</ref> Consider a load of [grain](/source/grain) that is transloaded at an elevator, where it is combined with grain from other farms and thus leaves on the train as a distinct shipment from that in which it arrived. It thus cannot be said to be transshipped. Or consider a package shipped through a [package delivery](/source/package_delivery) service or by [mail](/source/mail): it may change shipping mode several times along the trip, but since it is (from an external point of view) conveyed as a single shipment regardless of how it is conveyed or what else travels with it on the legs of its journey, it is not considered to be transshipped. Conversely, a load on a truck can be taken in one (legal) shipment to an intermediate point and then to its ultimate destination without ever leaving the truck. If this is specified as two shipments, then the goods are transshipped, but no transloading has taken place.

The modern distinction between transloading and transshipment was not well codified in the period of the mid-19th through mid-20th centuries, when discussions of [break of gauge](/source/break_of_gauge) often used the word ''transshipment'' for what today's careful usage would call transloading, or for any combination of transloading and transshipment.

==Transloading facilities==
[[File:Portainer (gantry crane).jpg|thumb|right|[Container crane](/source/Container_crane)s are used to transfer containers to/from container ships.]]
Transloading can occur at any place. A [truck](/source/truck) can pull up to another truck or a [train](/source/train), and transloading may be accomplished by no more elaborate means than [teamster](/source/teamster)s and [stevedore](/source/stevedore)s. In the interests of speed and efficiency, however, a variety of specialized equipment is used to handle the goods. Thus, intermodal facilities have specialized [cranes](/source/container_crane) for handling the [containers](/source/Intermodal_container), and [coal pier](/source/coal_pier)s have [car dumpers](/source/Rotary_car_dumper), [loaders](/source/Loader_(equipment)), [conveyor](/source/conveyor)s, and other equipment for unloading and loading [railroad car](/source/railroad_car)s and [ship](/source/ship)s quickly and with a minimum of personnel. Transloading facilities may also make use of a Bulk Transloading System to provide visibility of a transloading operation including rail, storage, over the road drivers, dray drivers, bookings, and the master load plan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yard Management Solutions – What is a Bulk Transloading System?|date=11 January 2021|url=https://blog.yardmanagementsoftware.com/what-is-a-bulk-transloading-system/|language=en|access-date=2021-02-16}}</ref>

Often the equipment used to ship the goods is optimized for rapid transfer. For instance, the shipment of [automobile](/source/automobile)s is expedited by [autorack](/source/autorack) rail cars and [roll-on/roll-off](/source/roll-on_roll-off) ships, which can be loaded without cranes or other equipment. Standardized containers allow the use of common handling equipment and obviate [break bulk](/source/Break_bulk_cargo) handling.

Transloading is often combined with classification and routing facilities, since the latter often require handling of goods. Transloading may occur at [railway sidings](/source/Siding_(rail)) and [break-of-gauge stations](/source/Break-of-gauge).

Where ports are too small to handle large bulk carrier ships, transloading can occur at sea, using  transhipment platforms, ships, or [floating cranes](/source/Crane_vessel) and barges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oldendorff.com/pages/transshipment|title=OLDENDORFF CARRIERS – Transshipment Experts Throughout the Globe|website=www.oldendorff.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-13}}</ref>

==See also==
*[ExpressRail](/source/ExpressRail)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.upds.com/customers/attachments/transload/transload_works.pdf |title=How Transloading Works |publisher= Union Pacific Distribution Services (UPDS) |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160603200116/http://www.upds.com/customers/attachments/transload/transload_works.pdf |archive-date= 2016-06-03 |url-status= dead}}
*{{cite web|title=Transloading - An Important Component of Modern Supply Chains |url=https://northfieldmed.com/blog/transloading-important-modern-supply-chains|publisher = Northfield|language=en|access-date=2022-09-30}}
* Origin, Destination, and Door-to-door Rail Transloading - {{cite web |url=http://xdev.www.upds.com/transload-advantage.html#how-transloading-works |title=How Transloading Works |publisher=Union Pacific Distribution Services (UPDS) }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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Category:Freight transport
Category:Intermodal transport

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Transloading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transloading) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transloading?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.