Transport is of vital importance to all countries interested in exporting or importing goods at the lowest possible cost. Trade, however, is not possible without transport and an efficiently managed transport system is a prerequisite for the competitiveness of goods. Modern cargo transport uses ISO containers and today container transport is undertaken primarily door-to-door, where one transport provider organizes and ensures such door-to-door transport, or multimodal transport (MT). This transport provider is often called a "multimodal transport operator" (MTO).

            Multimodal transport is a concept which facilitates international trade by ensuring the smooth flow of cargo and giving better control over the transport chain. The very widespread introduction of containerization has allowed the more advanced transport organizations aggressively to introduce multimodal transport on a wide scale, often in a regulatory vacuum with only limited legal constraints. Concerns about multimodal transport thus centre on two issues:

• Capabilities of local transport service providers to offer multimodal transport services; and

• Ability of legal regimes in force to regulate multimodal transport in a fair and equitable manner.

This means that not only the local transport providers, but also the national banking and insurance systems must be capable of accepting the new concepts, and that the Customs Authorities must be involved in the process of facilitating and harmonizing trade and transport. At present, the situation in many countries is that the number of national transport companies which offer door-to-door services to and from foreign countries is relatively limited, while the number of shippers and consignees who are potential users is significant.

            In order to assist countries address these concerns, the Services Development Division of UNCTAD has developed a series of training activities on Multimodal Transport within the UNCTAD/TRAINMAR Pro-gramme:

• A 1-day very intensive Workshop for Ministers of Transport, on transport policy questions, legal implications and possible benefits of introducing multimodal transport, (TRAINMAR code 5.07); (available in English);

• A 3-day intensive Workshop for top officials from Governments and transport organizations, on transport policy questions, legal implications and possible benefits of introducing multimodal transport, (TRAINMAR code 5.06); (available in English, French and Spanish);

• A 4.5-day Workshop for senior officials from Governments and transport organizations, on transport policy questions, legal implications and possible benefits of introducing multimodal transport, (TRAINMAR code 5.05); (available in English, French and Spanish);

• A 5-day Workshop for senior and middle management of existing (unimodal) transport companies wishing to engage in multimodal transport, on how and what changes to introduce to become an MTO and operate door-to-door transport, (TRAINMAR code 5.04); (available in English; will be translated into Portuguese and Spanish);

• A three week course for junior executives from freight forwarding companies on basic freight forwarding procedures, (TRAINMAR code 5.02); (available in English and French);

• A 1.5-day Workshop for senior executives and managers of transport companies introducing the benefits of short-sea shipping as a means of reducing environmental degradation and pressure on land transport modes, (TRAINMAR code 5.08); (available in French, will be translated into other languages); and

• A two week course for mid-level executives from shipping companies and freight forwarders on the operation of a containerized transport chain, (TRAINMAR code 5.10); (available in French).

            A brief description of these courses and their use is given in the pages which may be reached by clicking each item of the contents on the previous page. The courses are designed to be run as interactive workshops using modern management training techniques and bringing together users, practitioners and rulemakers in one place to explore issues together.