Since the rise of globalization, international trade has grown constantly and the demand of transportation services grew with it. Multimodal transportation is a natural evolution of the classical unimodal road transportation, and is a mandatory choice for intercontinental shipments. Optimization techniques always found a challenging but stimulating ground for applications in transportation, and the increase in the number of commodities that are transported every year all around the globe enhanced the interest and the usefulness of operational research methodologies, which are needed to properly manage complex transportation systems. The literature on multimodal transportation optimization is flourishing with interesting and multifaceted problems. Meanwhile, new emerging technologies generate new challenges for researchers. The objective of this literature review is to provide a picture of the state of the art on multimodal freight transportation optimization, for the different combinations of modes. An overview of recently published studies is given, identifying currently ongoing topics and emerging trends for future research.

全球化兴起以来，国际贸易不断增长，对运输服务的需求也随之增长。多式联运是经典单式公路运输的自然演变，是洲际运输的必然选择。优化技术总是为运输中的应用找到一个具有挑战性但令人兴奋的基础，并且每年在全球范围内运输的商品数量的增加提高了运筹学方法的兴趣和实用性，这是正确管理复杂运输所需的系统。关于多式联运优化的文献正在蓬勃发展，其中包含有趣且多方面的问题。与此同时，新兴技术给研究人员带来了新的挑战。本文献综述的目的是为不同的模式组合提供多式联运货物运输优化的最新技术图。概述了最近发表的研究，确定了当前正在进行的主题和未来研究的新兴趋势。