1 Exampromax - Stuvia US 2025/2026
IDIS 343 Exam 3 Questions and Answers
(100% Correct Answers) Already Graded A+
Importance of an Effective Transportation System
Ans: An efficient and inexpensive transportation system contributes to greater
competition in the marketplace, greater economies of scale in production, and
reduced prices for goods.
- Greater competition: distant markets can be targeted easily.
- Economies of scale: inexpensive transportation allows decoupling of markets
and production sites. This provides a degree of freedom to choose production
sites.
- Reduced prices: consumers can enjoy goods at a lower price and higher
standards of living.
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Basic transportation modes:
Exampromax - Stuvia US
Ans: - Water
- Rail
- Truck
- Air
- Pipeline
Important service characteristics:
Ans: 1. Price
2. Transit time and variability
3. Loss and damage
Price
Ans: • Price of transport service to a shipper is simply the linehaul rate for
transporting goods and any accessorial or terminal charges for additional service
provided.
• In case of for-hire service, some additional costs: pickup at origin, delivery at
destination, insurance, or preparing the goods for shipment.
• In general:
- Airfreight is the most expensive
- Pipe and water carriage are the least costly
- Trucking is about seven times more expensive than rail
- Rail is about four times as expensive as water or pipeline movement.
Transit Time and Variability
, 2 Exampromax - Stuvia US 2025/2026
Ans: • Average delivery time and delivery time variability rank at the top of the
lists as important transportation performance characteristics.
• For comparison, generally door-to-door service is used.
• Variability refers to the usual differences that occur between shipments by
various modes.
Some general observations:
Ans: • Over long distances, rail and air shipments approach constant average
transit times, while truck transit times continue to increase.
• On average, airfreight is the fastest mode for distances of more than 600 miles.
Following are truckload, less than truckload and rail.
• For distances less than 600 miles, air and truck are comparable. • For very short
distances, transit time is influenced more by the pickup and delivery operation
than the line-haul transit time.
• For variability: rail has the highest delivery time variability and air has the
lowest, with truck services being in the middle.
© 2025 Assignment Expert
• If variability is viewed relative to the average transit time for the transport
service, air can be least dependable and truckload the most dependable.
Exampromax - Stuvia US
Loss and Damage
Ans: • The most serious loss that the shipper may sustain has to do with
customer service.
• The shipment of goods may be for replenishing a customer's inventory or for
immediate use.
• Delayed shipments/arriving in unusable condition -> inconvenience for the
customer OR higher inventory costs OR backorders
Rail
Ans: - Long-hauler and slow mover of raw materials (e.g., coal, lumber,
chemicals)
- Low-valued manufactured products (e.g., food, paper, wood)
- Rail service exists in two legal forms: common carrier or privately owned.
• Common carrier: sells its transportation services to all shippers
• Private carriers: shipper owned with the usual intent of serving only the owner.
Truck
IDIS 343 Exam 3 Questions and Answers
(100% Correct Answers) Already Graded A+
Importance of an Effective Transportation System
Ans: An efficient and inexpensive transportation system contributes to greater
competition in the marketplace, greater economies of scale in production, and
reduced prices for goods.
- Greater competition: distant markets can be targeted easily.
- Economies of scale: inexpensive transportation allows decoupling of markets
and production sites. This provides a degree of freedom to choose production
sites.
- Reduced prices: consumers can enjoy goods at a lower price and higher
standards of living.
© 2025 Assignment Expert
Basic transportation modes:
Exampromax - Stuvia US
Ans: - Water
- Rail
- Truck
- Air
- Pipeline
Important service characteristics:
Ans: 1. Price
2. Transit time and variability
3. Loss and damage
Price
Ans: • Price of transport service to a shipper is simply the linehaul rate for
transporting goods and any accessorial or terminal charges for additional service
provided.
• In case of for-hire service, some additional costs: pickup at origin, delivery at
destination, insurance, or preparing the goods for shipment.
• In general:
- Airfreight is the most expensive
- Pipe and water carriage are the least costly
- Trucking is about seven times more expensive than rail
- Rail is about four times as expensive as water or pipeline movement.
Transit Time and Variability
, 2 Exampromax - Stuvia US 2025/2026
Ans: • Average delivery time and delivery time variability rank at the top of the
lists as important transportation performance characteristics.
• For comparison, generally door-to-door service is used.
• Variability refers to the usual differences that occur between shipments by
various modes.
Some general observations:
Ans: • Over long distances, rail and air shipments approach constant average
transit times, while truck transit times continue to increase.
• On average, airfreight is the fastest mode for distances of more than 600 miles.
Following are truckload, less than truckload and rail.
• For distances less than 600 miles, air and truck are comparable. • For very short
distances, transit time is influenced more by the pickup and delivery operation
than the line-haul transit time.
• For variability: rail has the highest delivery time variability and air has the
lowest, with truck services being in the middle.
© 2025 Assignment Expert
• If variability is viewed relative to the average transit time for the transport
service, air can be least dependable and truckload the most dependable.
Exampromax - Stuvia US
Loss and Damage
Ans: • The most serious loss that the shipper may sustain has to do with
customer service.
• The shipment of goods may be for replenishing a customer's inventory or for
immediate use.
• Delayed shipments/arriving in unusable condition -> inconvenience for the
customer OR higher inventory costs OR backorders
Rail
Ans: - Long-hauler and slow mover of raw materials (e.g., coal, lumber,
chemicals)
- Low-valued manufactured products (e.g., food, paper, wood)
- Rail service exists in two legal forms: common carrier or privately owned.
• Common carrier: sells its transportation services to all shippers
• Private carriers: shipper owned with the usual intent of serving only the owner.
Truck
