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ESPO’s Liber Amicorum: PortEconomics joins celebrations of 25 years ESPO
The European Sea Ports Association (ESPO) celebrates its 25 years with the publication of a Book of friends, gathering 30 memories and reflections of port people who are or have been instrumental in the life of the ESPO. Four PortEconomics members- Peter de Langen, Michael Dooms, Theo Notteboom, and Thanos Pallis- are among the contributors in ESPO's Liber Amicorum, bringing back memories and reflections of their extensive involvement in facilitating EPSO and its membership in advancing the interests of European ports. ESPO represents...
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Dutch and Belgian container ports: life in the fast lane
By Theo Notteboom Belgian and Dutch container ports are located in the Rhine-Scheldt Delta, the largest container port region in Europe in volume terms. Dutch and Belgian ports together handled 25.8 million TEU in 2017 or 7.9% more than in 2016. The Belgian-Dutch port region recorded a year-on-year growth of 6.2% in Q1-Q3 2018, so growth remains strong. In 2017, 23.9% of the total European container port traffic was handled by Belgian and Dutch ports. With these figures, the Rhine-Scheldt Delta port region is the most important port...
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Measuring environmental efficiency of cruise companies considering corporate social responsibility
With the importance of corporate social responsibility being increasingly recognised, PortEconomics member Grace Wang co-authored along with Xiao Yi and Kevin Li (Chung-Ang University), a study that aims to help a cruise company identify social and environmental issues that present risks and opportunities, while taking into consideration the most concerning environmental issues to the external stakeholders. A Super-slack-based measure model, combined with the Malmquist productivity index, is applied to measure environmental efficiency in...
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Maritime networks, port efficiency, and hinterland connectivity in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean has been one of the most active trading areas for millennia. Trade- and by extension connectivity- between Mediterranean riparian countries is one of the oldest and most studied topics in economic history. The Mediterranean has complex trade patterns and routes- but with key differences from the past. It is no longer an isolated world economy: it is both a trading area and a transit area linking Europe and North Africa with the rest of the world through the hub-and-spoke structure of maritime...
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Canada’s ports policy needs to move into the 21st century
By Mary Brooks First published @theconversation.com In March, Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced the launch of the Ports Modernization Review, a series of consultations, round-tables and meetings re-examining Canada’s port authority system. Recent studies of port governance have shown that there is no one right governance model for ports. Last year, my colleagues and I conducted a review of port reform around the globe. We concluded that there are many models that deliver the best port services in terms of trade efficiency...
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Containerization is a seesaw game
Almost from its inception, there has been a clear upward trend in the disruptive force of the container during its use. However, a relative decrease in container movement has been seen in recent years, the explanation of which goes beyond disturbances in the world economy. PortEconomics member Ricardo J. Sánchez along with Eliana Barleta, note that the inter-annual change in throughput with respect to changes in GDP is declining. To understand this phenomenon, Ricardo and Eliana have examined variations in containerization, notably factors...
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OECD report on efficiency and sustainability in multimodal supply chains
Efficiency improvements are inherent to the sustainability of global supply chains. Supply chains are highly dependent on a diversity of material flows handled by numerous actors (suppliers, carriers, manufacturers, distributors, etc.) and the efficiency of these flows impacts the environmental performance of the supply chain. Yet, there is no particularly clear strategy about improving the efficiency of supply chains, notably from an environmental perspective. The debate about whether environmental efficiency is better achieved through...
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The innovation ecosystem: an often undervalued driver of port competitiveness
The innovation ecosystem as an undervalued driver of port competitiveness presented PortEconomics co-director Peter de Langen during the 107th AAPA Convention hosted by port and the city of Valparaíso, Chile in 7-10 October 2018. Peter gave emphasis in the at the importance of the ecosystems services and the industries that can be attracted to the port ecosystem, while he presented the integrated approach to innovation performance of the port complex via a graphic. Download Peter's presentation and find out more!...
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