The concept of intermodal goods transport systems is proposed as a solution to the problems of inefficiency in long-haul routes for unimodal transport systems. Currently, in Colombia, freight transport is mainly concentrated in the highway mode, which has led to a historical dependence on this mode of transport, which also causes an increase in freight rates, which ends up directly affecting the economy of producers and consumers.

This article presents a model for estimating a cost structure for an intermodal transport system for the logistics corridor between the origin (Yacopí - Cundinamarca) and destination (Puerto de Santa Marta - Magdalena) nodes, integrating each of the 3 ways of transportation modes – road, fluvial and ferrous – as input variables, with the aim of being applied to a supply chain of the agri-food sector; specifically in the productive chain for exporting cocoa harvested in the municipality of Yacopí.

The methodological model for the elaboration of the cost structure does not take into account the external costs associated with the activity of freight transport, such as: air pollution, road accidents, traffic congestion, etc. The model is based on the determination of the agri-food chain and the definition of the logistic corridor in order to be characterized through the application of the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP). Subsequently, the model is fed with the data collected in this specific field and by consulting the databases of public and private entities that regulate and record the way variables of the model fluctuate, such as: fuel, tolls, cost of tires and auto parts, drivers' salary, maintenance costs, etc. Once the information has been consolidated, the costs associated with the intermodal transport of cargo by distance traveled in each of the transport modes implemented will be determined.

Keywords

(01) Intermodal Transport, (02)  cost structure, (03) Freight transport, (04) Intermodal transport corridor.