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Not every shipment moves best by a single mode. Universal Shipping & Logistics Inc. (USL) combines ocean, air, rail and road under one booking, coordinating each leg and the handoffs between them so your shipment never needs to be re-arranged every time it changes mode.
how it works
What is Multimodal Transportation?
Multimodal transportation is a single shipment moving under more than one mode of transport, such as ocean and rail, or air and road, under one booking rather than separate arrangements for each leg.
USL plans the full route, coordinates the transfer points between modes, and manages the documentation that carries through the entire journey. This works best when no single mode covers a route efficiently on its own, or when combining modes gets cargo there faster or at a lower cost than one method the whole way.
Benefits of Multimodal
Why Choose
Multimodal Transportation?
Separate bookings for each leg, and separate vendors at every transfer point, is usually where delays and miscommunication start. Multimodal transportation puts the entire route, and the handoffs between modes, under one coordinated plan, so a shipment keeps moving without depending on several parties staying in sync on their own.
- One booking covering multiple modes, instead of separate arrangements for each leg
- Handoffs between ocean, air, rail and road planned in advance, not improvised
- Routes built around cost, speed or a mix of both, depending on the shipment
- USL’s operations team manages the full journey, start to finish
What We Offer
Multimodal Transportation
Solutions for Every Route
Door-To-Door
Multimodal Shipping
The entire route covered under one booking, pickup through final delivery, no matter how many modes it passes through.
Combined
Transportation
Any mix of ocean, air, rail or road, planned around whatever combination actually gets your cargo there.
Intermodal
Transportation
The same container moves across modes without unloading the cargo itself at each transfer point.
Ocean Rail
Transportation
The ocean leg and the inland rail leg coordinated together, so arrival at port lines up with the next move inland.
Rail-Road
Transportation
The long-distance rail leg paired with the trucking that picks up where the rail line ends.
Air-Road
Transportation
Air freight’s speed for the long haul, with trucking arranged on both ends for pickup and final delivery.
Sea-Air
Freight
Ocean freight’s lower cost for most of the route, with air freight covering the final leg for speed.
WHY US?
Why Choose USL For
Multimodal Transportation?
Universal Shipping & Logistics Inc. (USL) has arranged freight for more than 5 years across more than 1,140 projects, with a 96.6 percent on-time record. For multimodal routes, that means one operations team plans the full journey, rather than each leg being handed to a different provider disconnected from the rest.
- More than 5 years planning routes across ocean, air, rail and road
- One booking, one team, coordinating every leg and every handoff
- Routes built around your shipment’s actual origin, destination and timeline
- Member of JCtrans and All Forward, two of the largest global freight forwarder networks, reaching 60-plus countries
- Non-asset-based freight forwarder. USL doesn’t own ships, aircraft, trucks, containers or rail cars, so each leg of a route is chosen on merit, not to keep an owned asset full
Ready to Plan Your Multimodal Transportation Shipment
Share your shipment’s origin, destination, cargo details and timeline, and USL will build a route and pricing around what it actually needs.
FAQS
Multimodal Transportation Questions We Get Asked Often
What's the difference between multimodal and intermodal transportation?
Multimodal is the broader term for any shipment using more than one mode of transport. Intermodal is a specific type of multimodal shipping where the same container moves across those modes without the cargo itself being unloaded and reloaded at each transfer point.
How do you decide which modes to combine for my shipment?
USL looks at your shipment’s origin, destination, timeline and budget, then builds a route around whichever combination of ocean, air, rail or road gets it there most efficiently.
Is combining modes more expensive than shipping by a single mode?
Not necessarily. Combining modes, such as ocean for the long-distance leg and road for final delivery, is often more cost-effective than relying on a single, pricier mode the entire way.
Does a multimodal shipment use one bill of lading or several?
Usually one. That’s part of the appeal: one document, sometimes issued as a FIATA multimodal bill of lading, covers the entire route rather than a separate document for each leg.
What is sea-air freight and when should I use it?
Sea-air freight combines ocean freight for the long-distance portion of a route with air freight for the final leg, suited to shipments that need to move faster than ocean alone but don’t need air the entire way.
Does customs clearance still apply on a multimodal shipment?
Yes, at whichever leg the shipment crosses a border. USL assists with the documentation and coordination that customs clearance requires at that point in the route, alongside the rest of the journey.
How do I get a quote for this?
Share your shipment’s origin, destination, cargo details and timeline through the quote form, or speak with our team directly, and USL will build a route and pricing around what it needs.
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