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Port choice by intra-regional container service operators: decision-making techniques between Malaysian and other Asian ports
Intra-regional container service operators are challenged to design regular and reliable liner services connecting regional ports at the lowest cost and shortest transit time while considering customer demand. This port study of PortEconomics member Theo Notteboom co-authored by Noorul Shaiful Fitri Abdul Rahman (International Maritime College Oman, Sultanate of Oman), Muhamad Nasir Rahmatdin (University Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia) and Mohammad Khairuddin Othman (University Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia), focuses on the selection of ports...
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Port labour in the era of automation and digitalization. What’s next?
The maritime and port industry experiences significant changes due to technological, operational and organizational developments. PortEconomics member George Vaggelas co-authored with Camille Leotta (University of Genoa, Italy) a port study that investigates current and future challenges for port labour in the light of the main trends shaping the port competitive environment. In this perspective, the evolution of port labour is argued to be driven by technology related factor, i.e., digitalization and automation. Digitalization can increase...
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The European container port scene 2019 and outlook for 2020
By Theo Notteboom The year 2019 brought a range of challenges and opportunities for European container ports. In this contribution we summarize the main developments and present an outlook for 2020. Container volumes up, but concern about rising trade barriers The year 2019 will go down in history as a year that brought healthy container volume growth for most European container ports, although growth slowed down in the second quarter. The year-on-year growth figures for the top 15 European container ports in the first nine...
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The impact of innovation on dock labour: evidence from European ports
The market environment of ports and terminals is continuously pushing terminal operators to achieve higher levels of dock labour performance. The latest port study by PortEconomics member Theo Notteboom along with Francesco Vitellaro (University of Genoa) proposes an original conceptual framework to identify, classify and evaluate innovative initiatives of terminal operators addressed to enhance dock labour performance. The authors link the innovation concept to a market-driven perspective on the organization of dock work in light of...
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Investment strategy of chinese terminal operators along the “21st-century maritime silk road”
After the the Belt and Road initiative launched in 2013, Chinese terminal operators invested in ports situated along the “21st- century Maritime Silk Road (MSR)”. Identifying which ports are important is made possible through applying complex network methods and GIS analysis. PortEconomics member Cesar Ducruet co-authors with Liehui Wang (East China Normal University), Yuanbo Zheng (East China Normal University) and Fan Zhang (East China Normal University) a port study that identifies strategic hub ports and investment strategies along...
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The Analyst: intra-port competition in Buenos Aires
By Peter de Langen One of the best-known cases of port reform aimed to create intra-port competition is that of Buenos Aires, the largest port of Argentina In the early 1990s, Buenos Aires was an inefficient state-run port. Cargo volumes fell between 1970 and 1990. The port tariffs increased by over 250% in real terms in a decade. The Argentine government reformed the port industry, creating a deregulated environment for private operators, while securing sufficient competition between terminals. Five terminal plots in the port...
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Towards 25,000 TEU vessels?
The introduction of ever-larger containerships is a much-discussed topic in academic and business circles. The largest containership size has evolved from about 5,500 TEU in 1995 to more than 23,000 TEU in 2019. The economic rationale for further scale increases in ship size is largely dependent on the current and future market conditions in the container shipping market, the adaptive capacity of ports and terminals (both economically and technologically) and, as of late, environmental requirements and considerations. The latest paper...
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The greening of supply chains: implications and challenges for Antwerp, Rotterdam and neighboring ports?
Participating as speaker in the session titled Sustainable Futures for Ports I : Energy, during the 7th Busan International Port Conference 2019, PortEconomics member Theo Notteboom made a presentation on one of the most contemporary port issues: green supply chains. In the past decades, green supply chain management (GSCM) has developed in view of integrating environmental concerns into the inter-organizational practices of supply chain management. In the past few years, tighter regulatory requirements and strong demands for a cleaner and...
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