PortStudies
PortStudies
PortStudies
Effects of distance on the network topology of the global container shipping network
Like many communication systems, maritime networks are embedded in space. But the effects of spatial properties on the network itself have not been deeply examined in previous research. Gravitational properties affect international trade, as well as container shipping flows in general, as distance represents spatial friction to exchange; yet the ability of the network and of specific nodes and links to operating at different geographic ranges of connectivity remains unknown. The latest port study of PortEconomic member Cesar Ducruet...
PortStudies
Strategic locations for logistics distribution centers along the belt & road
Since the inception of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, the associated infrastructure and transport and economic corridor developments have been widely addressed in the research field of transportation, logistics, and supply chain management. Such developments open windows of opportunity for accommodating trade flows in new or upgraded intermediate hub nodes and gateway locations along the BRI corridors. The latest portstudy of PortEconomics co-director Theo Noteboom, co-authored by Paul Tae-Woo Lee (Zhejiang University,...
PortStudies
Carriers investments in container terminals destined to alter calls schedule
Carriers announcements that they have acquired stakes in container terminal operations in North Europe, bring to the attention a port study that clearly demonstrates in a quantitative manner that ports have a much higher chance of receiving vessel calls of an alliance when one or more alliance members are having a terminal stake in the port. Big news from German ports in the last weeks. The first changes were noted in Hamburg as Cosco has undertaken a strategic investment to receive a 35% minority share in the Tollerort terminal operated...
PortStudies
Visibility and verifiability in port governance transparency
Transparency remains an under-analyzed topic in port research, and previous research has shown that port decision-making and governance reporting are inconsistent across countries. While transparency might be imposed through legislation or voluntarily adopted, effective transparency also includes (a) an organization’s willingness to consistently communicate and make transparent information available to internal or external stakeholders and (b) the stakeholder`s expectations on the visibility and verifiability of information. Ιn...
PortStudies
Productive arrangements in container logistics
PortEconomics co-director Peter de Langen wrote a policy report to help shape port policies in Brazil. The report ‘Productive Arrangements in Container Logistics: Policy Challenges for Granting Terminal Concessions’, was commissioned by the leading Brazilian terminal operator BTP, and written, in full independence, by Peter de Langen. The two central issues that are addressed are first, how to deal with shipping line owned container terminal operators and second, how to prevent dominant market positions of terminal operators or, if this...
PortStudies
National Integrated Maritime Policies: vision formulation, regional embeddedness
Integrated maritime policies (IMPs) provide a comprehensive governance framework to support the sustainable use of the seas and oceans while ensuring a horizon of prosperity for the population of the surrounding coastal regions. PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom along with Hubert Paridaens (Antwerp Maritime Academy), developed a study, published in the academic journal Sustainability, on how IMP governance can be arranged to support more effective policy integration. The authors identify and discuss a number of key strategic and...
PortStudies
Competing institutional logics and institutional erosion in environmental governance of maritime transport
The process of deinstitutionalization of maritime transport governance due to competing institutional logics in the context of the latest study of PortEconomics members Jason Monios and Adolf Ng published in the scientific journal Journal of Transport Geography (Volume 94). The sector continues to operate with a business-as-usual logic while simultaneously paying lip service to a logic of sustainability. The key regulator of the sector, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), attempts to bring in stricter environmental legislation,...
PortStudies
Port and hinterland: the impact of containerisation
The traditional notion of hinterland refers to the inland economic area influenced by the ports. In other words, hinterland represents the set of points of origin/destination of cargo flows, which pass through the port and generates the majority of its business. Following logistics and market transformations, the concept of hinterland has become rather dynamic and the traditional static approach may be misleading. In particular, it appears rather complex to identify hinterland’s boundaries due to the influence of drivers that are constantly...
PortStudies