Intermodal transportation improves the transfer of freight from intercity movement to local distribution. An example of this is the combined use of trucks and trains to move cargo over longer distances. Truck trailers are loaded with goods, driven to a rail yard, and transferred to a rail flatcar. They are then moved a long distance by train, unloaded at the destination rail yard, and driven to a market or a supply warehouse. Intermodal transportation requires cooperation and agreements relating to prices and delivery arrangements among the different carriers.
Similar agreements apply in the transportation of international freight.
One way that shippers use technology to exchange information is by using electronic tracking devices and software. These tools allow shippers to monitor the progress of freight movement. Automatic equipment identification tags similar to bar codes are placed on containers and truck trailers for identification as they go through different stages of their trip. Cargo Cults , religious movements arising from the impact of modern technology and mercantilism on developing cultures. Such movements appeared, for example, in 19th-century Melanesia and New Guinea when European trading stations and colonial administration became dominant.