A comparison of service quality at major container ports: implications for Korean ports

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of service quality factors at 15 major container ports in the world. From previous studies and from personal interviews and questionnaires directed to containership operators and logistics managers, the important service quality factors are identified and comparisons among container ports are made. Duncan test analyses suggest that service quality at Northeast Asian ports lags behind that of well-developed major ports elsewhere. The implications of this survey for Korean port development are considered.     

Concentration and the formation of multi-port gateway regions in the European container port system: an update

The European container port system features a unique blend of different port types and sizes combined with a vast economic hinterland. This paper provides an update of the detailed container traffic analysis developed by Notteboom (1997) by extending it to the period 1985–2008 and to 78 container ports. The paper also aims at identifying key trends and issues underlying recent developments in the European container port system. These trends include the formation of multi-port gateway regions, changes in the hinterland orientation of ports and port regionalization processes. While the local hinterland remains the backbone of ports’ traffic positions, a growing demand for routing flexibility fuels competition for distant hinterlands between multi-port gateway regions. The prevailing assumption that containerisation would lead to further port concentration is not a confirmed fact in Europe: the European port system and most of its multi-port gateway regions witness a gradual cargo deconcentration process. Still, the container handling market remains far more concentrated than other cargo handling segments in the European port system, as there are strong market-related factors supporting a relatively high cargo concentration level in the container sector.     

Competition,market concentration,and relative efficiency of major container ports in Southeast Asia

This study aims at investigating the degree of market concentration of container ports in Southeast Asia and to associate the concentration tendency with efficient container operations. While Singapore is the busiest container port in the region, its premier position is threatened by the emergence of other container ports in neighbouring countries. Major top ten container ports in Southeast Asia are included in the analysis, and market concentration is evaluated using established measures and analytical techniques such as the Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI), Gini coefficient, and shift-share analysis from 2007 to 2017. A super-efficiency model is then applied to the ports to investigate the association between shift effects and port efficiency. The HHI index indicates that the container port system in Southeast Asia has become ‘moderately concentrated’ with a score of 0.21 in 2017, contrasting with an index of 0.27 in 2007 suggesting it was ‘highly concentrated’ indicating a tendency towards de-concentration. ‘Super efficiency DEA’ results suggest that Laem Chabang and Singapore ports are ‘efficient’ exhibiting efficiency scores higher than one, while the other eight ports are ‘less efficient’. It is also found from the association of the net-shift effects and efficiency scores that Laem Chabang is the only port that is efficient and gaining market share, and, more importantly, and perhaps surprisingly, the ports gaining market share are ‘inefficient’. This study contributes to the literature not only by investigating the concentration tendency of the fast growing container port system of Southeast Asia, but also by associating efficiency evaluations with the market concentration.     

A critical review on the evolution and development of inland port research

Over the past twenty-five years a considerable amount of literature has emerged that addresses inland port development in a variety of ways and in different institutional contexts. A recurring issue throughout most papers focusing on inland ports is the wide diversity of definitions, actors, functions, levels and geographies that are of relevance. Therefore, a literature review on inland port development contributes to defining the most important streams in inland port research. Recent studies show that the concept of inland ports is clearly much richer and more diversified than merely an extension of deep-sea ports or port logistics. However, as much of the literature is still largely based on individual case studies and anecdotal evidences, the conceptualization of inland ports has proven to be particularly difficult. Therefore, this review paper presents a systematic and integrated review of inland port studies, covering 80 international peer-reviewed academic journal papers on inland port development between 1992 and 2017. The results show that much attention is paid on inland ports as components of the ‘transport/logistics/supply chain’ systems (follower), while their roles as components of the ‘regional’ systems (leader) are largely overlooked. Such a tweaked focus is likely to pose significant impacts on planning, management, and governance of inland ports.     

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.     

Spatial competition and complementarity in European port regions

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether inter-port relationships in European container shipping are characterized primarily by competition or complementarity, and to what extent this differs between major port regions. Utilizing a set of spatial dependence model specifications and quarterly container throughput data for 92 European ports in five regions between 2000 and 2014, it is found that the nature of inter-port relationships tend to differ between major port regions. While the Hamburg-Le Havre region is characterized mostly by competition, ports in the Mediterranean region are found to be complementary with regard to demand.     

Dynamics of liner shipping network and port connectivity in supply chain systems: analysis on East Asia

The study of ports in supply chain systems is an emerging area of importance which has drawn more attention from researchers in recent years. This paper presents a new perspective in this research area by examining the calling patterns of container shipping services in order to understand the dynamics of port connectivity and inter-port relationships in the supply chains. Empirical evidence is drawn from four major ports in East Asia, namely Shanghai, Busan, Kaohsiung and Ningbo. The study identifies the shipping capacity, trade routes and geographical regions connected to the ports, shipping lines involved, and the extensity and intensity of inter-port relationships among the four container ports from liner shipping network’s perspective. The findings show that most of the shipping capacity employed on the major east–west trade routes became non-exclusive and involved calls at two or more of the four ports. Port planners, terminal operators and carriers could capitalise on opportunities through exploitation of complementary relationships that exist among the selected ports, such as offering a package for shipping lines to call at a portfolio of terminals owned by the same terminal operator. Policy and research implications as well as recommendations are discussed for various stakeholders concerned with port planning and regional development.     

Liner ship fleet deployment with container transshipment operations

This paper proposes a liner ship fleet deployment (LSFD) problem with container transshipment operations. The proposed problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming model which allows container transshipment operations at any port, any number of times, without explicitly defining the container transshipment variables. Experiments on the Asia-Europe-Oceania shipping network of a global liner shipping company show that more than one third (17-22 ports) of the total of 46 ports have transshipment throughputs. Computational studies based on randomly generated large-scale shipping networks demonstrate that the proposed model can be solved efficiently by CPLEX.     

Migration of container terminals as their natural process of evolution: Case study of Gdańsk and Gdynia ports

The paper proposes a theoretical model of container terminals and container port development, based on the life cycle theory, threshold theory and catastrophe theory, and in references to Kuznets' swings (interpreted as waves of infrastructural investments), and Kondratiev long economic waves.The aim of this model is to explain the development process of a container terminal and a port within one technological generation, as well as in intergenerational configuration, and relate it to the migration process of container terminals in the scale of a port-city urban area. Then, the applicability of this model was checked in the case of the container ports in Gdynia and Gdańsk (Poland). The analysed evolution process of ports of Gdynia and Gdańsk conforms with the proposed theoretical model, proving that the migration of container terminals within these ports is a part of their natural process of evolution, being a consequence of their threshold development and location splitting.Considering the physical location of development investments within the container ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia, it was noticed that there are two basic directions of migration of container terminals. One is the migration of the port's main container activity (core terminal or terminals), being a result of a generational change taking place after overcoming the maturity point. The second type of migration is connected with dispersion of port development investments in the increasingly distant port hinterland, caused by the need of the life extension of terminals within one technological generation.In an analogy to the processes of development of living organisms, we can treat the migration of terminal outsourced functions as a “vegetative” increase, being an attempt to extend the life of the terminal, while the migration of the core terminal within the port area (erecting a new generation terminal) can be treated as “generative” growth.     

Container port efficiency in emerging and more advanced markets

The literature on container port efficiency has typically centered on ports in advanced markets or comparisons within regions. This study compares the efficiency of port operations in emerging markets (BRIC and the Next-11) with the more advanced markets (G7). We use data envelopment analysis to evaluate the container ports based on the import and export cargo volumes in 2005. Our results suggest that none of the ports in the advanced markets are role models for the field. This study provides a first step towards gaining insights into port efficiency in emerging markets.     

Path to a multilayered transshipment port system: How the Yangtze River bulk port system has evolved

China's steel output has maintained rapid growth over the past twenty years. Due to this, a large number of iron ore ports/terminals have been built along the Yangtze River, and the Yangtze River bulk port system has experienced a unique development in its structure. This paper aims to understand the evolution of this bulk port system.¹ along the Yangtze River. To achieve this objective, first the development phases of the Yangtze River bulk port system are reviewed, taking the theoretical (container) port evolution model as a benchmark. Then several hypotheses addressing certain features of bulk port system development are proposed, followed by using panel data analysis to test these hypotheses. Based on this discussion and analysis, the major driving forces that are reshaping bulk port development along the Yangtze River are then summarized. It is found that evolution of the Yangtze River bulk port system in general follows the port development models in previous literature. However, the trend toward regionalization and an offshore hub have not appeared. Besides this, iron ore transshipment is moving outward both for sea ports and river ports, and few iron ore transshipment gateway hubs are occurring. Furthermore, the transshipment function of a bulk port plays a significant role in port traffic changes, but this role is affecting sea ports differently to river ports. The container throughput of transshipment sea ports has a significant negative effect on bulk traffic, whereas that of transshipment river ports has a positive effect. Geographical conditions, institutional factors and national policy, industry agglomeration, changes in market supply and demand, and technology updates are major factors driving changes to the port system structure. These factors are observed to function either individually or collectively at different development stages.     

Measuring foreland container port connectivity disaggregated by destination markets: An index for Short Sea Shipping services in Spanish ports

The present research aims to develop a Foreland Port Connectivity Index (FPCI) including both qualitative and quantitative variables related to the characteristics of the maritime services provided. To that end, the FPCI incorporates two discount factors—the number of shipping services and destination countries—as penalties to correct for the quality of a port connection. After defining the FPCI, the index is applied to Spanish ports to study their connectivity in terms of container Short Sea Shipping (SSS) services. Although the connectivity of SSS traffic has not been widely studied, it is an interesting case study as small ports play a more relevant role in facilitating access to international markets for importing and exporting companies. According to the results, the port of Valencia is the most connected, followed by the ports of Barcelona and Algeciras. Furthermore, this is the first research paper to attempt to study foreland port connectivity disaggregated by destination market. This geographical approach enables a more precise identification of the main port competitors by destination market, thereby providing more detailed information to support port managers and policy-makers in their decision-making.     

On determining the hinterlands of China's foreign trade container ports

The boundary lines of the hinterlands of container ports, for as long as these exist, serve as reference points for future port development and infrastructure planning. In earlier efforts to delineate the hinterlands of Chinese ports, either the number of ports considered was limited, or the demarcation of hinterlands was based on aggregate port throughput only. As a result, none of these studies has allowed a clear understanding of the characteristics of shared hinterlands. To address such shortcomings, the membership degree method and the Huff model have been used here to delineate, if at all possible, the hinterlands of China's 20 major foreign trade container ports. The results reveal the existence of fierce port competition for China's hinterlands, with the hinterland characteristics of different types of ports varying in scope and spatial continuity. Our research has important policy implications for central- and local governments, as well as port authorities. In short, ways to strengthen inter-provincial port cooperation should be a top priority to policymakers going forward. Due to the unavoidable onslaught of diseconomies of scale in cargohandling, international hub ports should focus on the development of strong, port-centric maritime clusters and international shipping centres. Regional hub ports should coordinate better their relationship with international hubs and feeder ports. Finally, the latter ports need to plan their development cautiously in order to avoid unfettered and wasteful expansion.     

对铁路物流港规划与建设的思考

物流港规划与建设，市场导向是基础。分析铁路物流港建设的重要性，提出充分依托铁路运输，大力发展现代物流，在物流港加强多式联运、信息技术、人员素质、投融资体系创新等建议。     

Planning for competitive port expansion on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard: the case of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project

With the expansion of the Panama Canal, port cities along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard are competing to attract the increased trade expected once the project is complete in 2015. Competition includes extensive investment in projects for port expansion, dredging, and multimodal transportation for greater hinterland connectivity, fueled in part by uncoordinated federal port investments without a larger strategic vision for national port and trade infrastructure. One of the competing ports is in Savannah, Georgia, which is the country’s fourth busiest container port. Savannah is about to embark on a $652 million project that will dredge thirty-two miles of the Savannah River from 42 to 47 feet to attract and accommodate Post-Panamax container ships. The paper analyzes the geographic coastal impacts of port competition, and looks at the unique circumstances of the Greater Savannah Metropolitan Region in planning for future growth of its port. The case illustrates the geographic tensions of uncoordinated maritime freight and logistics planning with fragile coastal and riparian ecologies. The dramatic interventions in port excavation also demonstrate how global forces of technological change and port expansions in other parts of the world are reshaping local geographies.     

Congestion,port expansion and spatial competition for US container imports

The purpose of this paper is to analyze spatial competition, congestion and flows of container imports into the United States. An intermodal network flow model is developed and used to analyze congestion in the logistics system for container imports. The results indicate that congestion exists at most ports and its consequences are to raise costs at these nodes, and in some cases to divert traffic to other routes. Finally, if each of the ports expanded, the value of marginal capacity would converge to nil, and expansion would reduce congestion costs and waiting times.     

An analysis of the determinants of cruise traffic: An empirical application to the Spanish port system

We study the determinants that affect the capacity of ports to attract cruise ships in Spain. The conclusion is that the likelihood of having cruise traffic is linked to ports located in populous areas and close to large airports, ports not specialized in container traffic but sharing facilities with ferries traffic and ports having a minimum depth of water. The amount of cruise traffic that a port can generate is also related to the population and the air connections, along with the tourist appeal and the facilities shared with other types of port traffic, namely roll-on roll-off and ferries.     

A strategic appraisal of the attractiveness of seaport-based transport corridors: the Southern African case

The past decade has brought significant growth at, and competition between regional gateway ports and intermediate hub container ports in Southern Africa. Corridors are the essential link between these ports and continental hinterlands. Capacity expansions of seaport and corridor networks (resources), in conjunction with efficient transport services/operations (capabilities) are important to guarantee the attractiveness of a port–corridor combination. This paper focuses on the attractiveness of three Southern African container gateway port corridors (Southcor, Natcor, and Trans-Kalahari Corridors), all contesting the same continental hinterland, namely, Gauteng. By means of a corridor stakeholder survey, this study merges the corporate strategy concept of resource and capability appraisal, with various theoretical principles of corridor attractiveness. The resultant adapted resource and capability corridor appraisal model is then applied to the three corridor cases in question. Consequently, this study presents an empirical framework which identifies each corridor’s key strengths, key weaknesses and the extent to which each corridor is deemed ‘attractive’ by its stakeholders. Furthermore, this study reconciles theoretical assumptions of corridor attractiveness against actual perceptions of corridor attractiveness from surveyed stakeholders.     

The evolution of a regional container port system: the Pearl River Delta

This study investigates the progress of container port system development in South China, focusing particularly on the interplay between Hong Kong and the other ports in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. After identifying the downgrading trend of Hong Kong from a transshipment hub port for Asia and for China as a whole to a regional load center and the emergence of other deep-sea direct-service ports, the paper looks into the causes of this structural change of the port system. Four major causes are identified: the cost-base competition, the impact of the unique “one-country two-systems” policy, the impact of globalization and container standardization, and the impact of multi-modal accessibility and connectivity. The paper reveals that the interplay between different governments and between the governments and port operators are the local mechanisms that together as a whole respond to the shippers’ needs and the shipping lines’ pressure. It confirms that the interdependencies and competitive relations between terminals are being played out at a regional level. While the particular situation of the PRD is unique in many regards, the features emerging there, with its dominant hub, its network of feeder ports and its emerging direct-service non-hub terminals, are being replicated elsewhere.     

Congestion,port expansion and spatial competition for US container imports

The purpose of this paper is to analyze spatial competition, congestion and flows of container imports into the United States. An intermodal network flow model is developed and used to analyze congestion in the logistics system for container imports. The results indicate that congestion exists at most ports and its consequences are to raise costs at these nodes, and in some cases to divert traffic to other routes. Finally, if each of the ports expanded, the value of marginal capacity would converge to nil, and expansion would reduce congestion costs and waiting times.