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Improving cruise port infrastructure in the Med
By Thanos Pallis Cruise activities in the Mediterranean and its adjoining seas experienced remarkable growth in 2016. Annual statistics from the MedCruise association reveal that member ports handled a total of 27.4 million cruise passenger movements and 13,500 cruise calls last year, a significant rise from 2001, when they welcomed 8.6 million passengers and 10,100 cruise visits. MedCruise ports have upgraded their cruise terminal infrastructure to meet this demand for more berthing capacity and to accommodate bigger ships. Providing...
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The impacts of e-commerce on freight distribution
By Jean-Paul Rodrigue Although several aspects of e-commerce are perceived as a retail activity, it can better be understood from a freight distribution perspective. Because of the characteristics of its operations, e-commerce is having four fundamental impacts on freight distribution: • Distribution Pattern. The growth in home deliveries is one of the most tangible impacts of e-commerce as consumers are switching a growing share of their consumption (particularly discretionary) to purchases made online. Instead of a retail...
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Disruption on the docks
The decision about which port or terminal to use is more often driven by issues like route risk and diversification, labor strife and competing offerings by shipping lines. Shipping line network configuration, own terminal investments, existing alliance partner investments, and availability of the cranes to service ever-larger ships are also critical factors. In an article that was first published on 7 Feb 2917, @ the Reconnecting Asia website, Mary R. Brooks debates whether or not automation at ports is a disruptive enough technology to...
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PortGraphic: Mind the gap-Holland vs. Belgium in the container port business in 2016
By Theo Notteboom Belgian and Dutch container ports are part of the Rhine-Scheldt Delta, the largest container port region in Europe in volume terms. Dutch and Belgian ports together handled 23.9 million TEU in 2016 or 1.55% more than in 2015. Rotterdam continues to dominate the Dutch container port system handling 12.38 million TEU in 2016, a small increase of 1.2% compared to 2015. Rotterdam represents 99.5% of all container volumes handled in Dutch ports. Its lowest share ever was recorded in 2006 (i.e. 96%) when the port of Amsterdam...
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The Analyst: the benefits of togetherness
By Peter de Langen In fully private markets, the ‘invisible hand’ ensures the survival of the fittest. Under these markets, private organisations can generally be said to be efficient, whether they are globally operating multinationals such as aircraft manufacturers or internet search engines or small to medium enterprises such as restaurants. If they survive we can assume that they are efficient, such is the nature of a private market. The same cannot be said of government-owned organisations, as these are not subject to the same...
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Panama Canal Authority enjoys a customised edition of the PortExecutive Seminar
The PortEconomics team had the privilege to provide a customised edition of its flagship PortExecutive Seminar, this time in Panama, with the program attended by the personnel of the Panama Canal Authority The 6th edition of the PortExecutive Seminar focused on business development for ports, and related industrial and logistics complexes. Specific attention was given on issues as drivers of change, the use of concessions, stakeholder management and business development capabilities. The program included various interactive...
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Risky times for ports
By Thomas Vitsounis We are living in difficult times and if another shipping line goes bankrupt in a few months’ time, people can’t escape from that. Also, with consolidation happening more and more, these dangers and risk profiles will be increased for terminal operators. However, once a port realises a crisis could be coming up, it’s a case of being well prepared to micro-manage the effects of the crisis and make the right decisions. Here, technology is coming into play. With more information in hand and more sophisticated...
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Ports: an app a day
By Thomas Vitsounis The ports sector traditionally isn’t keen on being ‘disrupted’, and the relatively slow development of mobile apps seems to reflect that conservatism. But this year has seen a flurry of announcements of new apps – and that is significant. When it comes to the shipping industry and other parts of the supply chain, I can see some obvious trends, winners and start-ups in the area of apps. In general terms, the use of apps will change the industry and everyone knows that. When it comes to ports themselves,...
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