Transloading

Transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another is referred to as transloading, also known as cross-docking. When one mode cannot be used for the entire journey, such as when goods need to be shipped internationally from one inland point to another, it is most frequently used. In such a journey, the bulk material (such as coal) may need to be loaded to rail at the mine and then transferred to a ship at a port, or it may need to be transported by truck to an airport, then by airplane overseas, and finally by another truck to its destination. At railroad break-of-gauge points, transloading is also necessary because the equipment cannot move from one track to another without changing bogies.