Key Factors Influencing Multimodal Transportation of Natural Block Rubber in Thailand

Thailand is the world's largest natural rubbers exporter. The major type of natural rubbers exported is block rubber. Currently, the transportation of natural rubbers in Thailand depends mainly on truck mode because of the convenience and extensive network of roads. However, Thailand confronts road transportation limitations including maximum acceptable weight, traffic congestion and high fuel prices. Dealing with these problems, the multimodal connection from roads to container yards (CY) and ports is expected to decrease logistics cost, and increase various opportunities to trade with neighbouring countries. This paper, thus, aims at examining key factors influencing the use of multimodal transportation utilizing the exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The principal components analysis (PCA) method, together with the eigenvalue over 1, factor loading of 0.40, and varimax rotation method, extracted five key factors with a total of 20 associated attributes, which are the Multimodal Operation, Service Operation, Multimodal Service Provider, Market Consideration, and Road Constraints factors. The result also pinpoints the capacity of container yard (CY) or port, accessibility to container yard (CY) or port, documentation process, logistics cost, adequacy of a multimode service provider, and law enforcement on truck driving hours, as crucial attributes in planning for multimodal transportation. This paper can be used as a guideline for a feasibility study of multimodal transportation of natural block rubber in Thailand.