Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2021

Keywords

Container on barge; Inland waterways transport (IWT); Maritime transportation; Intermodal transportation; Literature review; Comparative analysis

Abstract

Container on Barge (COB) facilitates intermodal transportation by transporting shipping containers on barge tows. COB has seen rapid expansion globally over the past 20 years, providing a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly, and congestion-reducing mode of container transportation. European countries have led COB transportation in both study and application over the past two decades. However, increasing interest is observed in both the USA and Asia. In this literature review and comparative analysis, 135 COB-focused peer-reviewed articles are reviewed and analyzed to systematically describe the development and current status of COB transportation research. The relevant literature is analyzed to reveal publication rates and titles, geographical regions of interest, research questions, applied methodologies, advantages of COB transportation, and key success factors. The aim of our effort is to provide information on various aspects of COB development among different regions in the world and to summarize the existing literature to support and guide future COB development.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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