Port choice and freight forwarders

In light of the growing supply chain power of 3PLs and very limited empirical studies on port choice from the freight forwarders’ perspective, this paper tries to evaluate the major factors influencing port choice from the Southeast Asian freight forwarders’ perspective, their decision-making style and port selection process and draw out some policy implications for port operators and authorities. Efficiency is found to be the most important factor followed by shipping frequency, adequate infrastructure and location. Their selection process is complex and a two-stage process and supports the new approach that models ports within the framework of a supply chain.     

Port system evolution in Ecuador – Migration,location splitting or specialisation?

Port facilities expand or are relocated from their original locations according to several factors, such as outgrowing a limited space or avoiding clashes of use with expanding cities. Previous spatial models such as the famous Anyport model imply a natural evolution in port systems which can in reality be complicated by issues of port governance and competition. The goal of this paper is to enrich the Anyport model with insights from port governance and the port life cycle model, focusing on strategies of port actors to avert a potential decline when the port reaches geographical or economic constraints.The empirical application explores the evolution over five decades of the port of Guayaquil, Ecuador's primary port and the second-busiest container port on the west coast of South America. In the 1990s and 2000s, port governance reform introduced devolution from the national level to local port authorities, the signing of terminal concessions to private operators and competition from other ports in the vicinity. In 2006 a new deep-water port, 85 km downriver and in a different governance jurisdiction, was proposed. Continuous legal and operational challenges stalled the construction of the new port, until it finally entered into operation in 2019. Despite this development, the existing Guayaquil port decided to go ahead with more channel dredging and to extend the existing container terminal concession for an additional 20 years in order to maintain its operations.Thus, rather than a simple port migration to deeper water based on specialisation of tasks between deep sea and feeder activities, what has emerged is a competitive situation for the same hinterland between old and new ports. The port life cycle model provides a more dynamic view than purely spatial models, highlighting governance conflicts between local and national levels, power dynamics between global carriers and port terminal operators, changes in intra- and inter-port competition and horizontal complexities arising from municipal and regional boundaries between existing and available port locations.     

Spatial,temporal and institutional characteristics of entry strategies in inland container terminals: A comparison between Yangtze River and Rhine River

Recent decades have brought a growing commitment of investors in the (co-)funding and management of inland terminals, particularly container terminals. However, the actors involved, the forms of third-party entry and the emerging partnerships in inland terminals have only been investigated on a fragmented basis in inland port research. To complement existing inland port research on governance, management and spatial development, this paper analyses entry strategies of actors in inland container terminals on the Rhine and Yangtze in terms of their spatial, temporal and institutional characteristics. The unit of analysis in this paper is the inland container terminal, not necessarily the entire inland port (which might have more than one terminal). The entry strategies and the drivers behind these strategies are examined using a conceptual framework focused on five questions, i.e. who, where, when, why and which way. The empirical application is based on a large dataset of all container terminals on the Rhine and Yangtze. Our findings suggest clear differences between the two rivers in terms of the type of operators, the sequence of inland port development and also the major actors shaping the inland terminal landscape. Despite these differences, there is also some level of similarity, including a low presence of international players, the absence of deepsea (landlord) port authorities and observed waves of single acquisition, multiple-site acquisition, and capital entry in the terminals. Government policies, institutional frameworks and the nature of shipping network development are determinants of inland port investment and the entry strategies adopted by relevant actors. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the drivers and contextual environment guiding entry strategies in inland ports and can help policy makers and port operators in inland rivers to assess and benchmark their strategy. The paper adds to existing literature by considering spatiotemporal aspects of terminal ownership and the strategic considerations of and institutional drivers and impediments to the inland terminal strategies of the corresponding actors.     

Port governance models: Financial evaluation of Greek port restructuring

In the late 1990s, Greece proceeded to a major port governance reform, aiming to overcome observed deficiencies of its national port system. Twelve major ports of national interest were transformed from ‘public law undertakings’ to government-owned port corporations. Responsibility of port governance was devolved to autonomous commercially driven port authorities. At a latter stage, two ports (Piraeus and Thessaloniki) were listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. Grounded on the discussions regarding port performance indicators, this paper examines the financial performance of this new port governance model. It does so through an empirical evaluation of the 12 port entities’ financial performance over a time span that corresponds to the sector's reorganisation. The analysis suggests that certain rigidities are still present and further steps of modernisation and restructuring are essential. Despite profitable financial results in the case of most Greek ports of national interest, the examination of the financial accounts raises considerable doubts as to the efficiency of the ports’ organisational structures, currently in a transitional phase. These results are in line with suggestions that port governance in Greece does not respond, yet, to any of the potential matching framework configurations of structures and strategies that advance port competitiveness and have been identified in the port literature.     

Port system evolution – the case of Latin America and the Caribbean

The explosion of global container trade in the last two decades has significantly influenced the port geography of Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC), leading to a concentration of container traffic at selected ports. Theory suggests that, as port systems become mature, they tend to deconcentration, partly due to the emergence of secondary ports. Previous research has examined the region’s dominant ports, but an unanswered research question is how the evolution of this port system is influencing and being influenced by the actions of those ports currently occupying a secondary rank in the LAC port hierarchy.The methodology is based primarily on analysis of time series data on container movements between 1997 and 2012, revealing patterns of cargo flows and transhipment location choices. The institutional context of devolution processes and new investments in the region provides additional insight into the performance of selected ports. From a theoretical perspective, this analysis is situated within the context of recent institutional approaches that examine the port’s ability to act through critical moments and junctures, in order to deepen understanding of which of the various factors influencing port system deconcentration are the most sensitive to successful institutional adaptations.Results show that the manufacturing of strategic locations can be successful and may have driven the emergence of secondary ports in the LAC system. This finding demonstrates how path dependence can be challenged by new developments, the identification and success of which are nevertheless contingent on factors such as the first mover advantage, port planning regimes and diversification of port roles. The paper identifies some of the key factors influencing the transition of a port system from concentration at a few dominant ports to a deconcentrated system of primary and secondary ports, which can be applied to other port systems in future research.     

Time efficiency assessment of ship movements in maritime ports: A case study of two ports based on AIS data

Operational efficiency of a maritime port is an important issue for shipping lines and port authorities. It is desirable to move ships in and out of a maritime port as efficiently as possible. Automatic identification system (AIS) data recording the trajectory of ship movements allow us to assess the operational efficiency as ships move in and out of a port. This study proposes a time efficiency assessment framework that evaluates the amount of time each ship spends in the different areas within a port (i.e., berth, anchorage, and fairway) based on the space-time trajectories of ship movements derived from AIS data. According to the statistical distributions of time spent by different types of ship in each port area, the proposed framework can compare time efficiency across different zones within a port and between different ports. This study uses AIS data of four types of ships (i.e., container, cargo, tanker, and passenger ships) at two selected ports in China, Shanghai Yangshan Port and Xiamen Port, to demonstrate how the proposed approach can effectively assess and compare time efficiency levels of ship movements between the times entering and leaving the vessel traffic service (VTS) lines of a port. This study demonstrates the value of deriving space-time trajectories from AIS data based on the concepts of time geography to assess time efficiency levels of maritime ports and monitor their performance over time, which offer useful information to both shipping lines and port authorities for operations such as efficient scheduling and logistic support.     

Port service chains and port performance evaluation

This paper provides a novel and unique methodology for evaluating the effectiveness performance of a port’s individual services by utilizing the concept of a port service chain – a service network utilized by a port’s service providers in the provision of the port’s services that accounts for the quality-of-service relationships among the services. If such relationships are ignored, the resource allocations by the port’s service providers to improve the quality of their port services will either over- or underestimate the amount of resources needed. A cooperative port service chain will always (under certain conditions) be more effective than a non-cooperative port service chain.     

Demystifying Chinese overseas investment in infrastructure: Port development,the Belt and Road Initiative and regional development

China's outward investment has increased tremendously in recent years and it is currently a global leader in the construction of transportation infrastructure. While its signature ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) is often portrayed as a threat by policy makers and media in the West, this article approaches the BRI from the perspective of Beijing. We review Chinese infrastructure investment and show that rather than a monolithic strategy aimed at world domination, the BRI is driven by a range of Chinese stakeholders situated at different scales whose motives vary from achieving strategic geopolitical advantage to profit-maximization. We focus on port investments to demonstrate that the BRI accelerated an ongoing trend of increasing Chinese investment in overseas ports that began in the early 2000s. We subsequently present mini-case studies of port projects Gwadar, Pakistan and Kuantan, Malaysia, which illustrate that large Central Government state-owned enterprises (SOEs) pursue strategic objectives while SOEs situated at the province and city levels are motivated by economic incentives. All Chinese investors embrace the ‘port-park-city’ model pioneered by Shenzhen, and we highlight its potential to foster regional development. We conclude that future research on Chinese infrastructure projects should be relational, multi-scalar and multi-sited.     

The directional development of intermodal freight corridors in relation to inland terminals

This paper examines the spatial development of freight infrastructure, developing a conceptual model that draws attention to the directional development of intermodal corridors in relation to inland terminals. Two concepts of vertical control of the development process are proposed in this paper, beginning with Inside-Out, whereby inland intermodal terminals seek greater integration with their sea ports, often driven by public body intervention. By contrast, Outside-In development is displayed by the conscious use of an inland node as a tool for sea port actors (whether port authorities or terminal operators) to expand their hinterland and capture discretionary cargo.One of the key distinctions between the two models is the role played by different government approaches to the development of inland terminal facilities. Therefore three national examples are discussed: Sweden, where the public sector is directly involved in development; Scotland, where the private sector is left to develop terminals but government encourages the process through spatial planning and modal shift funding; and the USA, where the national government has traditionally taken little action.The primary contribution of this paper is the research agenda developed out of the conceptual model above, which should be applied to additional case studies in future work. Arising from the conceptual model and the examination of the role of public bodies is a debate on the role of regulation. However the subject of regulation is only touched upon in this paper, therefore more research is required on the government’s role in infrastructure planning and regulation in order to determine the best approach in this policy area.     

Understanding hinterland service integration by shipping lines and terminal operators: a theoretical and empirical analysis

In the present competitive environment of ports, the key determinant in port competition is the ability of a port to be integrated into the local maritime and hinterland transportation chain. Creating effective integrated hinterland chains requires the coordination of several actors both in port and the hinterland. By making use of insights from Transaction Cost Economics and Resource-based View, the paper helps to understand why and how shipping lines and terminal operating companies enlarge their scope in intermodal transport and in inland terminals. The paper discusses a number of cases from the Hamburg–Le Havre range, where shipping lines and terminal operating companies have changed their scope of activities in ports and hinterland networks. After the theoretical and empirical analysis the papers draws conclusions on the explanatory power of the theories in understanding hinterland service integration by shipping lines and terminal operators.     

Port activities and the spatial structure of cities: the case of Freetown, Sierra Leone

Port activities often give rise to distinctive regions within their town or city and it might be expected that they would have on effect on the spatial differentiation and spatial structure of urban areas. However, urban spatial theory appears to ignore this possibility, urban structure models having little or nothing to say about the role of port activities in shaping the spatial structure of towns and cities. Given this, the paper investigates the possibility of port activities having influenced the spatial structure of Freetown, Sierra Leone. It discusses the historical development of the port and city as a framework for consideration of the role of port activities in shaping the growing urban area. Attention is focused particularly on those areas where the influence is clearest, i.e. the central area with its concentration of business, commercial and administrative activities, and on the location of modern industrial areas in the emerging metropolitan area. Other factors that have shaped the urban area are discussed also. It is argued that, whilst port activities have been important historically, other influences have become more significant as the basis of the economy has broadened, the structure of society has become more complex and the city has assumed additional functions. The findings are tested by a brief and preliminary examination of other port-cities in tropical Africa, establishing that spatial associations between port activities and the central business area and between them and industrial areas are common.     

Drivers for migration of an intermodal network hub from a port to an inland terminal

This paper explores influences on a migration of hub status in an intermodal network from a port to an inland node by following the life cycle of an inland terminal development. The methodology is a longitudinal case study of the Swedish intermodal system over a period of 20 years, based on documentation, interviews and action research. We observe the changing roles of the Port of Gothenburg and the Falköping terminal at different time periods. These changes are then discussed and influences identified for this migration and new centralisation inland. The longitudinal approach allows a life cycle perspective which reveals the importance of initial public infrastructure development and then the operational importance of integration between shipper and intermodal transport and terminal provision in controlling the network. The integration of the inland terminal in regional logistics strategies was also found to be important in attracting port flows to be transported via the inland hub to be containerised.     

Bunkering competition and competitiveness at the ports of the Gibraltar Strait

This article provides an exploratory analysis from the perspective of the port operators of the factors that determine the competitiveness of fuel supply at the ports of the Gibraltar Strait (Bay of Algeciras, Gibraltar and Ceuta). The methodology is based on interviews and questionnaires focused on public and private institutions involved in the port services. The results reveal that fuel prices and geographical advantage are the two main factors seen by Gibraltar Strait port operators as influencing shipping company choice of bunkering port. In order of importance, other identified factors related to the cost and quality of services, including port tariffs, supply waiting time, service rates, simplicity of crew changing, presence of restrictive environmental regulations and customs strictness.     

The distinction between commercial and non-commercial bus services in Germany: Given by nature?

German public transport services by bus are characterized by a regulatory framework that distinguishes between commercial and non-commercial services. Contrary to the apparent views of legislators, this paper shows that costs and revenues are not the only parameters determining whether or not operators are able to provide services in a commercially viable way.Apart from the local characteristics of the specific service, we show that the classification of services as commercial versus non-commercial is determined in large part by the public transport authorities that set minimum quality standards to be provided by operators. Our analysis shows that the authorities awarding the contracts in some cases affect market organization significantly depending on how they make use of this power. Furthermore, market organization differs substantially with respect to the awarding structure and the contractual relationships, thus creating a challenge for operators and authorities in an embryonic market.     

Scale and sustainability: the role of community groups in Canadian port-city waterfront change

In port cities the transport-derived process of urban waterfront change is strongly influenced by a wide range of ‘actors’, including not only port authorities, urban planners and real-estate developers, but also a variety of community groups operating mostly on a local scale, but promoting globally-relevant ideas about environmental sustainability. This paper is based on a field investigation of the role of community groups in selected Canadian port cities, using structured tape-recorded interviews. The ideas expressed, while often initially place-specific, are nevertheless of widespread relevance to the global process of cityport change.     

Analysis of factors underlying foreign entry strategies of terminal operators in container ports

Port reforms around the world have opened regional container port terminal markets. The emergence of a wide array of global terminal operators has led to a differentiation in entry strategies driven by their respective objectives and by factors exogenous to the firm.This paper looks at antecedent factors that play a role in a company’s entry strategy in a public–private partnership (PPP) setting by performing binomial logistic regression on a large sample of container terminal deals over the period 2002–2010. More specifically, it analyses to what extent firm-specific, external, project and cross-cultural factors play a decisive role in the choice between direct PPPs (i.e. stepping into a new PPP arrangement such as a new concession agreement) and indirect PPPs (i.e. stepping into an existing PPP arrangement through acquisitions).The empirical findings demonstrate the pivotal role of some firm specific characteristics (market experience and business model), external factors (host country development and market openness, government effectiveness, market concentration degree, and market saturation) and project-related factors (project size, number of partners involved, and equity joint venture with the Port Authority), also unveiling some preliminary results in relation to cross-cultural variables.     

The role of quantitative and qualitative research in industrial studies of tourism

Many areas of research in tourism concentrate on quantitative or qualitative studies. Some even discuss the complementarity between the two types of studies. Hardly considered are the possibilities for combining such works within an integrated framework that also considers the business environment in which tourism operates. The purpose of this paper is to return to long neglected possibilities by reinvestigating areas of methodology and epistemology concerned with the generation of a framework that embraces both quantitative and qualitative research. A hypothetical example, in terms of industrial organisation and strategic decision making, is introduced discussing the possibilities for the triangulation of methods and paradigms and the role of the business environment. The conclusion is that an improved understanding of the tourism business requires a broader research methodology than presently exists. Both types of research and the dynamic context of tourism are important and need to be combined within an integrated framework. It has been concerned with the construction of integrating frameworks that embrace an alternative logic of inference and the context of the tourism business environment. This requires refinements of existing approaches together with a broader research methodology. Only by establishing such frameworks will an improved understanding of the tourism industry be achieved. The suggested framework presented here, with particular reference to industrial organisation and strategic decision making by tourism suppliers, is not offered as a panacea. For future work, the validity and choice of framework rest squarely on how the world and ‘truth’ are viewed. However, within this, the contribution of triangulated quantitative and qualitative research should help understanding by studying phenomena in their natural setting and in terms of the meanings people have of them. This should lead to a ‘truer analysis’ of business behaviour and hence a more purposeful investigation of hotels, tour operators, travel agents and the business of tourism in general. It is in seeking to produce this ‘truer analysis’ that future research activities need to concentrate. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development dynamics of the Portuguese range as a multi-port gateway system

The aim of this paper is to discuss the current status of port regionalization in the Portuguese range and to identify its possible developments, giving special consideration to cross-border issues. The ‘Portuguese range’ comprises a set of ports located in the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula, grouped in a multi-port gateway region, directly connected to one of the main European Union rail freight corridors. These ports possess a natural competitive advantage as a gateway to foreland regions along the Atlantic Ocean, such as Latin America, North America and West Africa. In order to fully realize this potential, the entire range is engaged in a regionalization process into certain regions of Spain, which is analysed in this paper. The paper builds upon previous work on regionalization, inland terminal networks, dry port development and dyad formations and applies these concepts to the Portuguese range, in its pursue for the capture of hinterlands in Spain. The validity of the regionalization theoretical framework is thus benchmarked against a trans-national case and novel elements are sought to enrich the framework. The paper first describes the current situation of container terminals in the Portuguese range regarding throughput, rail connections, network of inland terminals (and dry ports) and its utilization. Comparison is made with its Spanish counterparts. The policies of major stakeholders are also reviewed concerning dry port and logistic platform development. A number of potential and existing seaport-dry port dyads are identified. Conclusions and policy suggestions are presented.     

A general framework for collecting and analysing the tracking data of cruise passengers at the destination

Cruise passengers’ behaviour at the destination is a rather poorly investigated phenomenon. The single exit/entry point and the relatively brief visiting time, which characterize cruise passengers’ experience at their destinations, make the use of GPS technology particularly suitable for the analysis of such a relevant phenomenon. The aim of this research is to propose a general framework for collecting and analysing GPS tracking data relating to cruise passengers’ behaviour at their destination. The main prerequisites and research stages for the implementation of surveys on cruise passengers will be described and a set of tools and measures for the analysis of GPS tracking data will be proposed, together with their potential applications. As examples of case studies, two surveys performed in the ports of Palermo and Dubrovnik will be described and the main results of the collated information will be presented. Improving our understanding of the behaviour of cruise passengers at their destination is particularly relevant for the management of tourism destinations, given the challenges that this growing phenomenon is posing for many port destinations in the Mediterranean.     

Tourism product and service innovation to avoid ‘strategic drift’

Dealing with change in the external environment creates substantial challenges for tourism managers. Given the complexity of strategy formulation it is difficult for managers to analyse all aspects of their environment or establish precise objectives, consequently business strategies tend to be characterised by small strategic adjustments or ‘incrementalism’. However, these marginal adjustments of strategy within an organisation's existing culture may lead to strategic drift reflecting strategies that are inconsistent with changes taking place in the external environment. The paper begins with a brief overview of the global trends that comprise the remote environment of tourism organisations. It argues that the standard response of tourism organisations to changes in the remote environment can be characterised as ‘strategic incrementalism’. The paper also addresses the concern that strategic incrementalism can give rise to ‘strategic drift’. In the face of changing global trends the paper explores some of the barriers that must be overcome, discussing seven areas of importance on which managers can focus to assist them to avoid strategic drift. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.