Measuring the quality of port hinterland accessibility: The Ligurian case

Traditionally, distance was considered the parameter that could better reflect the economic influence of a seaport on land. Containerisation and intermodality progressively eroded such a paradigm and currently distance became only one of the factors across the overall “equation”. In this respect, a fundamental role is played by the effectiveness of inland connections. The better the connection of a port to the various inland markets, the bigger the potential to enlarge its overall captive area. Furthermore, the higher the “frictions” (bottlenecks, delays, etc.) for reaching the hinterland, the lower the inland traffic flows.The major purpose of the paper is to measure container traffic diversion from Ligurian ports (Genoa, La Spezia and Savona) to the main Italian and European competitors.The application of a gravity model will reveal the current role of distance in drawing hinterland market share among the selected ports. Moreover, for evaluating the unexploited potentialities of Ligurian ports, we compared real traffic flows with the outcomes of a spatial interaction model, reassigning inland container flows to the different sampled ports. The calculation of the traffic delta through a gap analysis, allowed measuring the “frictions” thwarting the connectivity between the Ligurian ports and the sampled hinterland regions. Finally, the paper discusses the nature and the reasons for the above traffic diversion.     

The dry port concept: connecting container seaports with the hinterland

The dry port concept is based on a seaport directly connected by rail with inland intermodal terminals where containers can be dealt with in the same way as if they were in a seaport. The main purpose of the article is to extend the theory behind the dry port concept and to define three dry port categories; distant, midrange and close. The findings show that the dry port concept can help identify ways of shifting freight volumes from road to more energy efficient traffic modes that are less harmful to the environment, relieve seaport cities from some congestion and facilitate improved logistics solutions for shippers in the port’s hinterland.     

Opportunities to improve container barge handling in the port of Rotterdam from a transport network perspective

This paper presents and evaluates an opportunity to improve the competitiveness of container barge transport in the hinterland of Rotterdam through a reorganization of container barge services. This reorganization improves the handling of barges in the port and consists of splitting existing services into a trunk line operation in the hinterland and collection/distribution operations in the seaport. A marginal cost model is used to demonstrate the potential net benefits of these revised services. The main conclusion is that these split services can improve the competitiveness of barge hinterland transport, but the effectiveness depends on several conditions. These conditions are first of all related to the design and organization of collection and distribution transport, but also to the characteristics of the trunk line operation in the hinterland.     

The dynamics of modal split for freight transport

The paper presents a dynamic model of modal split in a multimodal freight transport system, which supposes that the evolution over time of transport demand is accompanied by a corresponding evolution of transport modes, and that users react with delay to cost variations. Starting with these hypotheses, and following the paradigm of random utility, a recursive equation is obtained, whose iterated application furnishes the sequence of the demand fractions on the various transport modes in the successive epochs of the time period during which the evolution of the transport system is studied and enables forecasting the future modal split evolution.     

Searching for policy priorities in the formulation of a freight transport strategy: a canonical correlation analysis of freight industry attitudes

An efficient and effective freight transport strategy can be aided by early professional contributions from key stakeholders. One broad group who have historically been given limited opportunity to influence the drafting of a freight strategy, are commercial road users and shippers who manufacture and distribute goods. Utilising a data set collected in Australia in 1996 from a sample of organisations involved directly and indirectly in road freight transportation, views were sought on road infrastructure changes, new road infrastructure, non-road infrastructure needs and transport policies. An optimal scaling approach using non-linear canonical correlation is implemented to search for structural relationships between the underlying policy and infrastructure dimensions and the various industry categories. This framework provides a powerful mechanism for identifying differences among stakeholders in terms of their support for or opposition to specific policies. Results reveal the considerable differences in attitudes associated with the component parts of the freight industry.     

北部湾港后方铁路货运通道研究初探

分析区域铁路运输总体情况,总结区域铁路运输通道和港区铁路存在的主要问题,解读区域现有铁路规划、北部湾经济区发展规划、各城市总体规划和北部湾港总体规划,在对北部湾港后方铁路货运通道研究的紧迫性和必要性认识的基础上,提出北部湾港后方铁路货运通道研究思路和亟待深入研究的关键问题,给出相关建议和措施。     

A meta-model for passenger and freight transport in Europe

On the basis of the outcomes of five disaggregate national models for passenger transport, four national models for freight transport and two European transport models, a fast and approximate meta-model for passenger and freight transport in Europe has been developed. The meta-model for passenger transport includes a detailed segmentation of the population, which makes it possible to investigate the impact of policies on many different groups of the population. The meta-model for passenger and freight transport has been applied for a reference scenario for 2020 and to simulate many elements of the European Commission's Common Transport Policy. These policy measures were also assessed in terms of the consequences on the internal and external cost of transport.     

European intermodal freight transport network: Market structure analysis

The analysis of market structure and concentration measures for the Intermodal Freight Transport (IFT) market is important to avoid market failure and to find the areas for policy making to promote IFT market share. This analysis can be performed for separate segments, for example, the market for transshipment service or the market for main-haulage service. However, due to the multistage characteristic of IFT service, the segmental analysis gives an incomplete view of the IFT market at the network level. In a previous paper (Saeedi et al., 2017), we present the Intermodal Freight Transport Market Structure (IFTMS) model to conduct a network-based study of the IFTMS in which distinctive actors (i.e., pre/post haulage operators, terminals, rail/barge operators, transport chains, and corridors) are competing at different levels inside distinctive markets to deliver an integrated IFT service. There are two main challenges in the application of IFTMS model in real cases, for example, the European IFT network. First, the definition of the geographical and spatial border of the transshipment market areas is needed to determine which actors are potentially competing for a specific service demand. The second challenge is the lack of disaggregated data and the consistency of existing data in nodes (i.e., the transshipment areas) and links (i.e., the rail and barge operators). To cope with these challenges, we develop a four-step methodology in which a model-based approach is used to define the geographic boundaries of the transshipment submarkets and provide detailed and consistent data for market analysis. We also apply the IFTMS model to study the market structure of European intermodal network. Our analysis shows that the majority of transshipment markets as well as main-haulage markets are highly concentrated markets. The corridor markets – which include the IFT chains – are unconcentrated markets. Furthermore, the majority of corridors in the European Union are inside highly concentrated origin-destination markets.     

New SP-values of time and reliability for freight transport in the Netherlands

This paper discusses the methods used in a study on the values of time and reliability in freight transport in the Netherlands. SP surveys were carried out among more than 800 shippers and carriers. A novel feature is that both for the value of time and reliability two additive components are distinguished: a transport cost and a cargo component. Specific instructions were given to make sure that the carriers provide the former and shippers that contract out the latter component. The resulting values that will be used in CBA in The Netherlands are presented and compared against the international literature.     

Investigating the impact of demand amplification on freight transport

Despite freight transport operations being influenced by supply chain dynamics, there has been only a very limited investigation into the impact of demand amplification on this function, with almost no analytical research. This paper aims, through spreadsheet simulation of a generic production control system, to quantify the impact of demand amplification on transport performance. Performance measures evaluated include both transport cost and efficiency. The results in general find a negative relationship between transport performance and demand amplification. It is also found that the ratio of vehicle capacity to average demand affects these results.     

Interregional trade network analysis for road freight transport in Greece

This paper suggests a flexible decision support framework for the strategic planning of a freight transport hub network in Greece. The proposed methodology treats practical aspects related to the optimal number, location and geographical covering of hubs, through the network analysis of interregional trade, based on original survey data for road freight flows during 2004–2012. The results offer insights into the hierarchical structure of the network and related investment priorities, as the hub role of a prefecture is found to be strongly influenced by high population densities and manufacturing specialization, and its location along highway corridors.     

Urban growth and freight transport: From sprawl to distension

This paper aims at discussing the effects of the urban growth on freight mobility through the analysis of urban activities localisation. Thanks to the results of this work, we lay the basics of an original concept that synthetizes logistics sprawl and other localisation dynamics taking into principal consideration the mobility of freight in general: the logistics distension.Through the spatial analysis of activities and population localisation between 1982 and 2012 in Lyon's urban area, we show the evolution of the socio-economic morphology and evolution of the freight landscape. Through freight movements modelling, we show the evolution of freight mobility in the conurbation of Lyon with regard to the modifications of the urban fabric.     

Delimiting the scope of the hinterland of ports: Proposal and case study

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology to delimit the scope of the hinterland of ports as accurately and simply as possible. To achieve this goal, the Huff model was adapted. In order to verify the validity of the proposal, it was applied to the Spanish case. As repulsion and attraction factors, both key aspects in the Spatial Interaction Models, the province-port travel time along the road network and the container throughput of the ports were considered respectively. The estimated hinterland of the analysed container ports fits well the observed flows. The obtained results confirm that the proposal made allows to identify the scope of the hinterland of ports in an effective an easy way, which is of interest both to stakeholders and policy makers.     

The transport geography of logistics and freight distribution

Goods movement and freight distribution are widely underrepresented in regional science and geographical research. This is surprising since a large body of traditional spatial theory has been developed with respect to transportation costs or to trade areas: those aspects that were originally closely connected with the exchange of goods. Growing attention is being paid in geography to related subjects, such as the emergence of global production networks, to structural changes in retail or to the commodification of modern consumption. To a certain extent, these processes depend upon the efficient transfer of information, finance and physical goods. Yet, with a few exceptions, the freight sector appears to be neglected in contemporary research. This paper provides an overview of the emerging transport geography of logistics and freight distribution. It challenges the traditional perspective where transportation is considered as a derived demand with the idea that logistical requirements underline transportation as a component of an integrated demand. The paper provides an analysis of the evolution of logistics as it pertains to the core dimensions of transport geography (flows, nodes/locations and networks). The concept of logistical friction is also introduced to illustrate the inclusion of the multidimensional notion of impedance in integrated freight transport demand.     

Integration of small freight flows in the intermodal transport system

This paper explores the possibility of implementing innovative bundling models and new-generation terminals as a means to integrate small flows, mainly from outside the economic core areas, in the intermodal transport system. Any integration of these small flows would increase the transport volume that is potentially suitable for intermodal transportation, and could therefore add to the modal shift from road to rail. To illustrate this concept, it will be applied to the proposed terminal in Valburg in the Netherlands. The theoretical and practical results of this example will be discussed in the context of the more general research on innovative intermodal transport.     

Co-evolution of the strategic reorientation of port actors: insights from the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Barcelona

This paper explores changes in the strategic orientation of port authorities and terminal operators towards the hinterland network in the Ports of Rotterdam and Barcelona. Port authorities and terminal operators are economically, institutionally and geographically related organizations. The argument here is that such organizations experience a mutually influential and interactive effect in their strategy over time. The research explores the evolution of the market, institutional and governance forces behind these organizations’ strategic orientation, while acknowledging their interdependence and interrelationship. To that end, it builds a conceptual framework analysing these organizations’ strategies in different points in time. It draws upon firms and port theories to design a co-evolutionary framework, which is later refined with insights gained from an empirical study of the port context.     

Comparing maritime containers and semi-trailers in the context of hinterland transport by rail

The purpose of this article is to investigate why rail is used to move semi-trailers to and from seaports to lesser extent than it is used to move maritime containers, and which actions can foster an increase of semi-trailer transport by rail. The two types of load units are obviously used in quite different logistics settings. The two transport segments are compared in terms of the transport markets they serve, the competition they face and the operational and technological principles upon which they operate.The empirical setting is the transport of general cargo in load units between Scandinavia, Continental Europe and the UK, although the container segment is analysed as an element of deep-sea liner shipping. Empirical findings are drawn from the case of the Port of Gothenburg and its Scandinavian hinterland. Sustained double-digit annual growth has led to a situation where most of the potential market for the hinterland transport of maritime containers has already been realised. The challenge for further growth is now to capture the semi-trailer segment.Not surprisingly, this analysis shows that rail is more competitive for the hinterland transport of containers than of semi-trailers, but there are still significant opportunities for reaping the benefits of rail transport of semi-trailer transport in the hinterlands of European ports. An increased integration of rail transport and Roll-on/Roll-off shipping will not only require, but also encourage, changes in the overall system design as well as its competitiveness compared to all-road and all-rail services.     

Demand for cargo airships: An analysis of mode choice decision making in the freight transport industry

Despite their potential, cargo airships currently remain a theoretical concept. This research aims to examine the factors determining the demand for their services from the perspective of transport logistics professionals. An online freight mode choice experiment is conducted, supplemented with follow-up semi-structured interviews. Across freight types the sensitivity of the modes (road, rail, sea and airship) to the attributes (price, time, reliability and frequency) varied substantially. Willingness to pay for the cargo airship mode for travel time saved is estimated to be $23/tonne/hour. It is conservatively estimated that the potential market share of cargo airships in the Australian domestic freight market varies across airship models with LMH-1 having the lowest market share of 8% while ARH50 has the largest potential market share at 25%.     

Towards the multimodal transport of people and freight: interconnective networks in the RheinRuhr Metropolis

RheinRuhr is an area where historic trade routes, national development corridors and European megacorridors all converge in a network of motorways. The settled area between Cologne, Duisburg and Dortmund is not itself a corridor, but a network of corridors. Transport bestows a unifying element in an area well known for nurturing local differences and distinctiveness. As a focal point of megacorridors, regional corridors and historic transit routes, can the RheinRuhr be a model for the region?     

On structural inelasticity of modal substitution in freight transport

At the European level there is an increasing focus on how freight transport can be moved from trucks on roads to more environmentally friendly modes such as rail and ship. A large proportion of the transport services between OD pairs, however, cannot be substituted since there is only one alternative available. The paper investigates the magnitude of this “structural inelasticity” of modal substitution in freight transport due to a sparser layout of rail and ship-based freight networks compared to road. In the analysis we use a recent Scandinavian freight demand model covering more than 800 zones. We find that the structural inelasticity is very significant - in particular for transportation over less than 500 km. Moreover, the inelasticity varies greatly with commodity groups and between OD pairs, and it depends strongly on the port and rail infrastructure. The results suggest that pure charging instruments (road pricing for trucks) in many regions will have limited mode substitution impacts. However, if combined with structural changes in terms of improved infrastructure for rail and ship, impacts may be greater.