A dynamic model for marginal cost pricing of port infrastructures

ABSTRACT

A dynamic model for marginal cost pricing of port infrastructures links costs to system performance by combining a power-law function with time-dependent queueing analysis. Additionally, the model incorporates the marginal cost of capacity, including the effects of economies of scale. This allows the calculation of the marginal cost price under a dynamic framework. The model accounts for nonlinear behaviour of port demand, which is sensitive to price and service levels. The effects over time of cost and service levels on the port’s operational performance are quantified. The proposed model allows determining the optimal timing for capacity investment. The model is a starting point for the application of marginal cost pricing to ports. However, for practical application of such pricing method it is necessary to apply a system’s approach, as productivity and costs must be assessed at the terminal’s component level. This should allow the derivation of a marginal cost function at the terminal’s component level.     

A Study in Port Planning: The Example of Mina Zayed

The correct number of berths that a port should provide is solved by a model which minimizes the total port usage cost in terms of the costs of berth provision and the costs accruing to ships from time spent in the port. This model is then applied to Mina Zayed in the Arabian Gulf as an aid to future planning, and from different sets of cargo forecasts an optimal stategy is derived using a game-theoretic approach.     

A Study in Port Planning: The Example of Mina Zayed

The correct number of berths that a port should provide is solved by a model which minimizes the total port usage cost in terms of the costs of berth provision and the costs accruing to ships from time spent in the port. This model is then applied to Mina Zayed in the Arabian Gulf as an aid to future planning, and from different sets of cargo forecasts an optimal stategy is derived using a game-theoretic approach.     

Port pricing: a cost axiomatic approach

The earlier port pricing literature argued that port prices should be based uponk marginal cost pricing. However, recent literature suggests that a conflicts would arise between marginal cost pricing and full cost recovery at ports. Further, problems arise in determining or estimating marginal costs. A price structure that addresses the problems of port marginal cost pricing is cost axiomatic pricing, given the goals, objectives and constraints of ports. Fairness and cost efficiency cost axioms for ports are considered. A methodology for determining cost axiomatic prices for a marine container terminal is presented.     

基于数字仿真及BIM技术的港口平面设计优化

针对某内河港口平面设计中挖入式港池布置方案比选和交通布局优化等关键问题,采用泥沙和交通数字仿真及BIM技术建模计算分析,得到了不同方案的回淤情况、平面交通组织情况,为港池方案比选和交通布局优化提供了科学的方法、可靠的数据支撑和可视化的手段,提高了设计的科学性和沟通效率。     

港区道路管理信号系统设计

随着港口大型化的发展,各港口的道路信号系统落后是普遍问题。本文分析了港口道路信号控制需求,提出了适用于港口的道路信号系统的系统目标和分级控制结构,并具体地界定了系统管理平台功能和信号控制机功能,最后以天津港为例介绍了港区主干路协调控制的设计方法。     

杭甬运河集装箱港口布局方案研究

运用层次分析法对杭甬运河集装箱港口布局进行规划研究,通过对港口腹地经济环境、集疏运网络、港口资源、港口服务管理水平、港口地理位置和投资等因素的权重分析,得到了以杭州港区为杭甬运河的主枢纽港,宁波海河联运港区和绍兴港区为重要港口,萧山港区、柯桥港区、上虞港区和余姚港区为一般港口的布局方案,其中主枢纽港和重要港口应以建设集装箱专用码头为主,其余应建设多用途码头。其结果对杭甬运河集装箱运输的发展具有重要的参考意义。     

Cost assessment of ship emission reduction methods at berth: the case of the Port of Piraeus,Greece

This paper addresses the problem of ship exhaust emissions at the Port of Piraeus and undertakes the challenge of finding a cost-effective option for its reduction according to the upcoming requirements of the 2005/33/EU Directive, through analysis of port traffic data and the utilisation of the experience gained through previous studies in this field. The Port of Piraeus makes a particularly suitable reference for this type of work, since it is one of the busiest and highly urbanised ports in the world. It is shown that cruise ships calling at Piraeus fulfill the criteria of selection for such an exercise by virtue of their frequency of calling, berth power requirements and time spent at berth. It was found that, according to current practice, cruise ships at berth consume 11 034 tons of fuel and produce 620.1 tons of NO_X, 274.8 tons of SO₂ and 20.7 tons of PM, totalling to 915.6 tons of exhaust emissions per year. This represents an overall annual cost of 21 million euro, divided between private (bunkering) and external (emission damage) costs by 19.4% and 80.6%, respectively. With regard to the upcoming EU requirements for ship power at berth, it was found that, irrespective of whether operating on ultralow-sulphur (0.1% sulphur) fuel or on shore-side electricity, a sizeable reduction in emissions and associated external costs is achieved, whereas private costs were always higher than those of the current practice. Comparing the two options, it was further found that the shore-side electricity presents the lowest external costs but highest private costs, whereas the overall costs are around 25% lower than the onboard use of ultralow-sulphur fuel.     

基于LTE的港口视频监控系统

研究建设基于LTE的港口视频监控系统的目的在于,利用先进的无线传输技术解决对港口环境下在不易敷设线缆区域的视频监控数据传输问题,为港口视频监控系统的建设发展提供保障。LTE系统通过网络结构的调整,使用了多种关键技术,实现了高带宽、低成本的数据信息无线传输,是今后船舶、港口安全监控的必然需求和选择。本文重点介绍LTE技术的特点网络结构,并通过与其他无线传输手段的比较,分析其在港口视频监控系统中的应用优势。     

Impact of scale increase of container ships on the generalised chain cost

In recent years, an increase in the size of the container ships could be observed. The question is how these larger ships will influence the total generalised costs from a port of loading to a destination in the European hinterland. The second question is whether a scale increase of the container ships on other loops, such as a loop from the United States to Europe, has the same impact on the generalised chain costs as on the loop from Asia to Europe. A derived question is which element of the total chain has the highest importance, and whether this balance varies as the ship size changes. In this article, a model is developed that allows answering the above research questions. The model is designed to simulate the cost of a complete loop of a container ship and of a chain that uses that same loop. For the chain cost simulation, the maritime part is determined by the loop. From the ports of loading and unloading, the port container handling and the hinterland transportation costs are also integrated. The model also allows calculating the total chain cost from a point of origin (either a hinterland region or a port) to a destination point (also a port or a hinterland region). An actual container loop of a container shipping company can be introduced in the model. An application is made to two existing container loops, namely from Asia respectively the United States to Europe. It turns out that changing ship does indeed lead to economies of scale, but also that the impact is larger on the Asia–Europe connection than on the US–Europe connection. Furthermore, the maritime component has the biggest share in the total chain cost, but as ship size increases, the shares start getting closer to each other. This research contributes to the existing literature in two ways. First of all, it quantifies the impact of the scale increase of container ships throughout the total chain. Second, this is done from a bottom-up engineering modelling approach.     

低碳型集装箱港区港内道路规划方案优选

合理的港内道路路网结构及交通组织是集装箱港口作业效率提升以及节能减排的重要保证。提出利用集装箱港区生产作业智能体微观交通仿真模型模拟集装箱生产作业流程,并以集装箱港口服务水平和集卡日均碳排放成本作为指标,优选低碳型集装箱港区港内道路规划方案。应用实例表明,集装箱港区生产作业智能体微观交通仿真模型可有效模拟港内作业过程,通过对比分析不同道路规划方案下的评价指标,得到最优的港内道路规划方案,为港区道路规划与设计提供参考。     

Determinants of container port choice in Spain

For the economic and financial evaluation of port investment projects, it is important to know the demand function of a port's services. The objective of this study is to establish such a demand choice function for the Spanish container port services. The function is derived from the coefficients of a port choice model, for which a multinomial logit model is used and of which the coefficients are estimated with regression analysis. The variables tested concern inland transport cost, ocean transport costs and broad proxy variables for quality of service. Information on container import and export flows for 2007 is obtained from the Spanish Treasury Department. The linear regression analysis is based on differences of utilities of alternative routings of containerised cargoes compared to those routed via the port of Valencia. The obtained results are satisfactory in terms of model fit. The estimated coefficients can be used to assess the impact of changes in costs of container flows routed via a port on a port's market share. A demand choice function for the port can be derived by systematically doing so. An example is presented for the port of Valencia.     

Optimal containership size

The cost per container movement incurred by a containership per voyage leg on a given route is minimized under various scenarios. The principal conclusions reached from a comparative analysis of the optimal containership sizes are: (1) for a route of a given distance and the same time in port per port call, optimal containership size declines as the number of port calls increase, (2) for a route of a given distance and the same number of port calls, optimal containership size declines as the time in port increases and (3) for the same number of port calls and the same time in port per port call, optimal containership size increases as the distance of the route increases. Rationale for these conclusions are presented.     

Pricing strategy and tariff structure for a port authority: a case study of South Africa

South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) tariff structure shows imbalances and cross-subsidisation amongst commodities and groups of port users. Benchmarking studies show that South African port costs are below the benchmarked mean for low-value bulk commodities like coal and iron ore, and above the mean for high-value containerised commodities. Vessel charges are also below the benchmarked mean and the required tariff revenues are raised from the tariffs charged to port tenants and cargo owners. This study examines and compares the 2013/2014 TNPA tariff structure with that proposed by the Ports Regulator of South Africa. It compiles, calculates and compares 254 commodity cargo dues with their relevant sector base tariffs for the year. The results indicate the level and direction of cross-subsidisation within and between break-bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk and containerised cargoes. Of the 254 commodities examined, 100 are below the sector base tariff (being subsidised) and 154 are above (subsidising other cargoes). The findings of this article contribute to the implementation and monitoring of a tariff strategy that will allow for a more reasonable, just and cost reflective TNPA tariff structure.     

现代煤炭港口卸车联合调度优化问题研究

现代煤炭港口由传统装卸服务向综合物流服务转型过程中,对港口整体调度的智能性与效率性要求提升到新高度,因此需要以系统论的观点解决煤炭港口的联合调度优化问题。针对影响卸车调度的关键问题,综合考虑车流集中到达、列车限制性调度等因素,以现代煤炭港口生产工艺流程为基础,重点研究现代煤炭港口卸车联合调度优化,构建以待车时间最短、作业时间最短且关联堆场作业动态的卸车联合调度优化模型(火车-翻车机-堆场联合调度优化模型),运用相应优化策略,分析优化模型,实现卸车调度各环节智能化的最优解决途径。     

盐城滨海港区维护疏浚工程施工技术优化

盐城滨海港区回淤严重,需常年进行水深维护疏浚确保船舶安全通航,其疏浚泥沙含水量高且施工期间干扰因素多,造成施工效率低和维护成本高。针对港区水深维护问题,通过对港区的回淤规律和通航水深进行综合分析,并结合适航水深和适航增深等水深动态维护技术,优化港区维护疏浚的时间节点及绞吸船的关键疏浚技术参数,在保证船舶通航安全的同时,有效降低港区航道的维护疏浚次数,提高挖泥效率,降低施工成本。     

Next generation mega container ports: implications of traffic composition on sea space demand

ABSTRACT

Demand for sea space brought about by increasing container-shipping traffic has important implications on how this space is managed and used. This is particularly important given the long-term nature, high-asset specificity, high- opportunity cost of investment, and significant economic impact of container port activity on a locality. The challenge is especially pressing for ports, which are facing constraints in seaside capacity where container traffic also has to co-exist with the needs of other types of ship traffic. This challenge is likely be multiplied for next generation container ports, which are expected to handle even larger traffic volumes. These ports are also likely to face competing sea space demands from other economic and social activities especially when they are concurrently major confluences of trade, logistics, and urban populations. This is the first research to investigate in detail the impact and importance of investigating sea space requirements from the perspective of cargo traffic composition and ship capacity. Results show that transshipment containers can generate much higher demand for sea space due to the higher volume of shipping capacity that accompanies such traffic. Sustainability issues and managerial and policy implications pertaining to the development of next generation container ports are provided.     

Panama Canal expansion and its impact on East and Gulf coast ports of U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the Panama Canal expansion and its impact on American port infrastructure for the attention of academic researchers in maritime transportation and supply chain management (SCM). First, it provides a comprehensive background based on a review of pertinent practitioner as well as academic publications. This is followed by a summarization of the impact of this expansion on the infrastructure of the major East and Gulf Coast (EGC) ports, since these stand to be the most affected. Then it presents a categorization scheme for these EGC ports that capture their likelihood of attracting the expected increase in cargo traffic engendered by the expansion; this is preliminarily supported by the latest data on growth in container traffic. The policy implications of this categorization are then discussed and the paper ends by identifying key SCM research problems exposed by the above.     

港口装卸企业成本管理控制问题分析

在激烈的市场竞争中,港口装卸企业要狠抓企业内部成本控制。本文针对港口装卸企业成本组成的独特性,分析研究了成本管理控制方面存在的问题,提出了解决问题的措施。     

An analysis of the overcapacity problem under the decentralized management system of container ports in Japan

This article is concerned with an analytical summary of how the Japanese container ports have been taking place overcapacity problem in a systematic way. It focuses on institutional aspects of the overcapacity problem from the viewpoint of accounting cost and opportunity cost. The first issue arises due to the port authority's accounting system and insufficient disclosures of financial statements of port business to the port users and taxpayers. The second issue is inherently related to resource allocation between the state government and local governments through the budget system and income distribution programmes. Since a proper allocation of economic resources in the port sector as a whole will depend on investment decisions being taken within a coherent framework for ensuring that costs are passed on to port users, these issues are closely related to each other in reality. Although the budget system is completely controlled by the state government, the local governments have authoritative power over port planning, financing, and management, which is assured by the Ports and Harbours Law. The overcapacity problem appears to be an inevitable result.