Multimodal transport is the movement of goods under a single contract using at least two different modes, such as road and sea, with one operator accountable for the entire journey.
In trade practice
For frozen and chilled food exports from Ukraine to the EU, multimodal transport typically combines road haulage to a port or rail terminal with sea or rail onward movement. The single operator issues one transport document covering all legs, simplifying claims in the event of damage or temperature excursion. QA teams should confirm that cold-chain handover procedures and temperature logging requirements are specified for each mode change.
In a specification
A contract or logistics brief should name the modes to be used, identify the multimodal transport operator and state temperature and documentation requirements at each handover point.