Joint Role of Industry, Technology and Society in Modal Shift

Over 150 years ago engineers dealt with the technological development of heavy industry and its organization to meet society needs. During the past 25 years the issue of reducing environmental impact from technology has opened new engineering challenges. One is the modal shift from trucks on roads to trucks being loaded on coastal ships. Industry, technology and society has created a number of possibilities for realizing the modal shift. The pressure of economics is forcing the industry to seek cost reduction while the technology of high speed marine transport is developing to the point where a number of high speed ships can be utilized. Finally the social concerns of the environment and air pollution is impacting the expansion of current truck operations. The presentation shows the modal shift offers both economic benefits as well as reduction of the environmental impact.