The vessel docked on time. The rail slot didn't. The truck showed. The chassis didn't. Every shipper has a story like this. In intermodal, reliability isn't measured by how few things go wrong, but by how quickly you see it and solve it. Especially for shippers in North America, where 3-4 players touch every intermodal freight move, reliability depends less on luck, and more on control. Up ahead, let's explore what dependable intermodal really looks like and how to tell if your provider can deliver it beyond the brochure.

Where reliability breaks in intermodal supply chains

Ask any shipper what keeps them up at night, and it's rarely a missed ETA. Instead, it's finding out too late to act. In our recent internal survey, shippers described reliability failures in practical terms.

Sounds familiar, yes? Reliability often starts to unravel in three familiar places: fragmented ownership, inconsistent capacity, and reactive communication. These are common failure points we see across handoffs:

• Drayage appointments missed or rescheduled without coordination
• Turn times stretch past terminal free time and accruing demurrage and detention
• Rail bookings made but not confirmed, backed up, or lack of rail pick up
• Delays uncovered too late to recover from

The fallout? Extra storage fees, labor rescheduling, missed SLAs, product unavailability, downstream penalties, and trust erosion—caused by gaps in a supply chain you thought was under control.

So, what does intermodal reliability look like? It's built on three layers: performance, system, and relationship.

1. Reliability in performance: Consistency

Reliability starts with doing what you said you would—every time.

In intermodal, performance reliability can be defined as consistency across operational milestones which brings predictability to supply chains—across weeks and weather, not just in ideal conditions. This means measurable performance across inland moves, holding steady through volatility, and transparent reporting that proves it. So, a reliable intermodal transportation provider doesn’t just say they aim for 48-hour turnarounds or 95% on-time rail departures. They show it—in system logs, SLA reports, and historic data across seasonality.

Performance reliability in intermodal: What to look for?

• SLAs defined, documented, shared, and reviewed regularly with on-time and dwell benchmarks
• Predictable turn times, service frequency, and appointment scheduling across modes and corridors
• Measurable performance and exception-handling metrics with visibility into SLA adherence
• Seasonally proven, lane-specific performance with steady operating rhythm

When your provider hits the same benchmarks week after week consistently, your team can plan labor, inventory, and delivery windows with confidence. That is performance reliability in intermodal.

2. Reliability in system: Connectivity

For intermodal shippers, different legs of the journey (port, rail, drayage, depot) are usually handled by different partners. The risk isn’t always poor service. It’s uncoordinated moves and misaligned systems without ownership of connection. If your ocean carrier isn’t synced with your drayage partner, if your rail booking is unconfirmed while the cargo is ready, or if customs clears but no truck is scheduled—that’s not a visibility issue. That’s a coordination issue. And when connectivity is weak, performance becomes unpredictable, regardless of how reliable each vendor is in isolation.

In intermodal, system reliability depends on operational sync between systems, providers, and handoffs. So, when and if a disruption occurs, coordination doesn't collapse. Connectivity enables that kind of agility in an intermodal supply chain. It's the ability to keep your cargo moving through multiple modes and lanes without lags or drop-offs.

System reliability in intermodal: What to look for?

• Integrated visibility across modes, terminals, and milestones, not siloed snapshots
• Seamless booking coordination across ocean, rail, and drayage legs
• Pre-aligned documentation and access control to avoid port/rail/truck delays
• Proactive handoff management and exception handling at every node

It's about eliminating silos, not just through software, but through aligned processes and shared accountability. When systems talk to each other, your cargo doesn't fall between the cracks. That's system reliability in intermodal.

3. Reliability in relationship: Communication

Even the most sophisticated systems don't mean much if you're the last to know when something changes. With intermodal transportation where one delay can ripple downstream fast, reliability is as much about proactive updates as it is about service quality. Your best partner isn't the one who updates you only when things go wrong. Real reliability means communication that is proactive and predictable.

In intermodal, relationship reliability is defined by how predictable the shipment feels. And that is done by providing communicated visibility. Reliable providers don't just share data, they translate it into action and accountability. They tell you what's happening, why it's happening, what's being done about it, and what's next. That means you're informed before your free time expires, not after.

Relationship reliability in intermodal: What to look for?

• Milestone-based updates across every leg of the supply chain journey
• Proactive, trigger-based alerts and regular communication cadence
• Defined escalation paths and exception handling tied to SLA timelines
• Direct communication channels with transparency and accountability when things slip

Communication is how reliability is experienced. Not at the terminal. But in the inbox, the phone call, the heads-up before something breaks. That is relationship reliability in intermodal.

Before you call your intermodal 'reliable', ask this...

To gauge whether your current logistics company is a good intermodal partner, consider:

• Performance: Are service levels defined, tracked, and shared—or just assumed?

• System: If one leg falters, does the plan collapse or reroute automatically?

• Relationship: Do you hear about issues when they happen, or when they've already cost you?

Together, these three layers form the foundation of reliable intermodal: performance that repeats, systems that connect, and communication that keeps you in control. If your provider can answer all three with proof more than promises, you're looking at real reliability. And if they can't, it's time to look beyond—to a partner who can.

With Maersk, you get more than a logistics service provider. You get a single accountable partner across ocean and inland with SLA-backed delivery, integrated systems, and proactive exception handling baked in. Want to see what connected intermodal reliability looks like? Learn more about Maersk Intermodal.

Be ready for intermodal reliability to go all the way! Discover more with Maersk Logistics Insights, and learn how connected intermodal delivers end-to-end control, or explore more logistics trends and insights, read and download The Logistics Trend Map.