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The economics of port authority reform: a framework for ex-post evaluation
The activities of a port authority form but one of several factors that can contribute to the competitiveness of a port. A port authority can increase its contribution by optimising the various functions it performs in a facilitating and entrepreneurial manner. Port authority reform matters in that it must set the right governance framework for port authorities to achieve their full potential contribution to the competitiveness of their ports. The objective of this study of PortEconomics associate member Patrick Verhoeven along with Eddy...
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Top 13 container port regions in the world: the rise of China
By Theo Notteboom Container port rankings look at individual ports. Following such an approach Shanghai is the largest container port in the world (35.28 million TEU in 2014) followed by Singapore (33.87 million TEU). Such rankings can be a bit misleading as regions with several medium-sized container ports might seem less important than regions with only one large load centre. When grouping seaports together in multiple-port regions we get a better picture of the container port handling hotspots in the world. The chart provides an...
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Inland flows generated by a call of a 20.000 TEU vessel
By Theo Notteboom Container vessels of more than 19,000 TEU are already operational on the Europe-Far East trade. The CSCL Globe and MSC Oscar are notable examples. Ships of over 20,000 TEU have been ordered by a number of carriers such as OOCL. The chart shows the implication of a visit of such a mega vessel to the port of Antwerp or Rotterdam, two of the largest container ports in Europe. A call of a 20,000 TEU vessel is expected to result in an average call size of 8,000 TEU. Some 70% of that volume is gateway cargo, the remaining 30%...
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How much container volume can a weekly service bring to your port?
By Theo Notteboom An analysis of liner services on the North Europe – Far East trade reveals that average vessel sizes have increased from 4,250 TEU in 1998 to 12,200 TEU in 2015. The number of liner services on the North Europe – Far East trade peaked in 2006 with over 30 regular services. Today just over 20 weekly services connect North Europe to the Far East. The combination of ever large container vessels combined with a relative decline in the number of ports of call per liner service results in larger call sizes. The above chart...
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The legacy and future of the Panama canal: from point of transit to transshipment hub
In 2014, the Panama Canal celebrated its centennial-spotlighting its legacy as an important gateway of international trade but also raising questions about its future in an increasingly integrated global economy. The Panama Canal expansion project will open a new set of locks and will complete several ancillary projects, such as dredging and widening, in early 2016 at an estimated cost of $6.2 billion. As is common with megaprojects, however, unforeseen events and cost overruns are likely to increase the final price tag. The expansion is...
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Mega vessel stop-over: transhipment near the straits of Gibraltar
By Theo Notteboom The Straits of Gibraltar is strategically located on some of the most important East-West trade lanes. Ports in the wider region around the Straits have good reasons to convince shipping lines of making a call at their container terminal facilities for transhipment and interlining purposes. Algericas at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula was the first to reap the benefits of its geographical location. Its share in the total volume handled by the five ports considered in the graph reached close to 70% in the...
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Top-10 cruise ports in the Med
By Thanos Pallis Which are the top-10 cruise ports in the Meditteranean and its adjoining seas? PortEconomics co-director Thanos Palllis compiled the list of the 10 largest cruise ports in terms of passenger movements in 2014, and compared these figures to the years 2013 and 2010, in a single picture, with PortEconomics provides this information to its readers. The data were collected in the context of a statistical report prepared for MedCruise (the association of ports in the Med and its adjoining seas), with Thanos Pallis,...
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Holland vs. Belgium in the container business: do we have a winner?
By Theo Notteboom In 2014, 23.4% of the total European container port traffic was handled by Belgian and Dutch ports. With these figures, the Rhine-Scheldt Delta port region, which includes all Dutch and Belgian ports, is the most important port region in Europe - and PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom discusses the "Holland vs. Belgium" match in the container business: "In the late 1970s, Dutch ports handled three times more containers than Belgian ports. The graph demonstrates that the combined container volumes in the Belgian...
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