Coastal trade has existed in the United States since the founding of the nation. The majority of cargoes carried have been bulk commodities that travel through an established inland waterway system and along the U.S. coasts by barge, tanker and freighter. Figure 1 presents a map of several coastal services in use. The various shipping lines and their routes are defined for the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Mexico. As the map clearly demonstrates, nearly all current coastal RO/RO services are between points where either land transportation is not an option, e.g. continental United States and Puerto Rico or where land transportation is extremely circuitous or arduous, e.g. the lower 48 and Alaska.
Up until the last several decades, utilization of RO/RO vessel operations in markets that could be served by direct land links (Except in rare niche markets) were difficult to sustain. As a result, without the introductions of new and innovative types of intermodal services, domestic and international supply chains will continue to experience decreased velocity and/or increased costs.
With the introduction of a new generation of ship technology, e.g. high speed large capacity RO/RO's; innovative ship building construction techniques and efficiencies; and operational models based on proven and sustainable customer demand. Roadships Intermodal Lines is poised to significantly expand the use of RO/RO shipping along continental coastal waters. Roadships provides not only a viable intermodal alternative to domestic coastal surface transportation but offers tangible value to existing transportation and logistics operations.
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