CPL Transportation Mode Selection & Routing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which transportation mode offers the greatest flexibility for door-to-door delivery in rural areas with no rail or water access?
- Air freight
- Truckload (TL) motor carrier (Correct answer)
- Intermodal rail
- Pipeline
Correct answer: Truckload (TL) motor carrier
Truckload motor carriers provide the greatest geographic flexibility and can reach virtually any location with road access, making them ideal for rural door-to-door delivery.
Question 2: A shipper needs to move 10,000 barrels of crude oil 800 miles at the lowest possible cost per unit. Which mode is most appropriate?
- Tank truck
- Rail tank car
- Pipeline (Correct answer)
- Tanker ship
Correct answer: Pipeline
Pipelines have the lowest cost per ton-mile for liquid commodities like crude oil when moving large, continuous volumes over fixed routes.
Question 3: What is the primary disadvantage of air freight compared to other transportation modes?
- Limited geographic reach
- High cost per pound (Correct answer)
- Poor reliability
- Inability to handle large volumes
Correct answer: High cost per pound
Air freight's primary disadvantage is its significantly higher cost per pound compared to surface transportation modes.
Question 4: In transportation routing, what does the term 'milk run' refer to?
- Refrigerated transport of dairy products
- A single vehicle making multiple pickups or deliveries along a route (Correct answer)
- A direct route between two points
- An emergency expedited shipment
Correct answer: A single vehicle making multiple pickups or deliveries along a route
A milk run is a routing strategy where a single vehicle makes multiple stops to pick up or deliver goods, consolidating loads from several suppliers or customers.
Question 5: Which factor most directly increases the cost of Less-than-Truckload (LTL) shipping compared to Full Truckload (FTL)?
- Longer transit times
- Terminal handling and consolidation costs (Correct answer)
- Higher fuel surcharges
- More restrictive weight limits
Correct answer: Terminal handling and consolidation costs
LTL shipments must pass through terminals where they are unloaded, sorted, and reloaded, adding significant handling costs not present in FTL direct shipments.
Question 6: A company must ship temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals internationally with strict time constraints. Which mode combination is most appropriate?
- Ocean + truck with refrigerated containers
- Air freight + refrigerated truck (Correct answer)
- Rail + truck intermodal
- Pipeline + truck
Correct answer: Air freight + refrigerated truck
Air freight combined with refrigerated truck provides the fastest transit and maintains the cold chain required for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals.
Question 7: What is 'deadhead' in the context of motor carrier routing?
- A shipment with no declared value
- Miles driven with an empty trailer (Correct answer)
- A route with no intermediate stops
- A load that exceeds weight limits
Correct answer: Miles driven with an empty trailer
Deadhead refers to miles driven with an empty trailer, which represents unproductive cost for carriers and is a key metric in route optimization.
CPL Transportation Mode Selection & Routing 2
Which transportation mode offers the greatest flexibility for door-to-door delivery in rural areas with no rail or water access?