Impact of COVID-19 on Shaping Comprehensive Services Within Intermodal Terminals

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced transport and logistics sector’s operation, including intermodal terminals functioning. Pandemic appearance evoked the operators of such terminals to face various challenges related to decision-making processes. One of the challenges was dealing with comprehensive services offer shaping. The article aims to analyse the influence of COVID-19 on shaping the comprehensive services offer at intermodal terminals during the first four month of the pandemic. The questionnaire was a tool applied to collect and investigate the opinions of intermodal terminals representatives on analysed issue. The case study of terminals located in Poland was considered. On the basis of the conducted research, it was stated that terminals operators’ representatives generally perceived negatively the impact of pandemic on terminals operation during its initial phase. The areas mostly influenced by the pandemic included organization of terminals operation and transhipment volume. Among the criteria, which influenced decisions connected to shaping of terminal comprehensive services offer and affected by the pandemic, the costs and profits related to service provision, and the demand for services were mentioned.