The impact of dry port operations on container seaports competitiveness

The concepts of intermodal logistics and distribution networks have made integration of the inland freight distribution system essential for an efficient container seaport system. Inland components, such as dry ports, which exist within the seaport system, have become important in shaping the performance and competitive strategies of container seaports. Owing to the importance of interdependence between dry ports and container seaports, this paper aims to investigate the impact of dry port operations on container seaport competitiveness. It conducted an empirical study in Malaysia through 120 online surveys to key stakeholders of dry ports, including freight forwarders, shippers, seaports, rail operator, shipping lines, and haulers. The data collected were analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results from EFA show that Malaysian dry port operations have impacts on seaport competitiveness. These include enhancing seaport performance, increasing service variations for seaports, improving seaport-hinterland proximity, increasing seaport trade volume, and enhancing seaport capacity.     

The role of dry port in hub-and-spoke network under Belt and Road Initiative

Dry port plays increasingly an important role in the integration of inland regions with seaports, and cross-border inland ports especially in the context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) originally proposed by China. This paper studies a logistics network connecting the inland regions by dry ports based on a two-stage logistical gravity model. First, a basic logistical gravity model is developed to analyze the radiated inland regions from dry ports, where the logistical quality of dry ports is calculated by principal component analysis. Second, considering mutual impacts among dry ports, seaports and cross-border inland ports, the influence of logistical gravity on the network is examined by using a coefficient based on the Ordered Weighted Averaging Operator in multi-attribute decision theory. An improved logistical gravity model is further developed to investigate the logistical connections among various ports (e.g. dry ports, seaports and cross-border inland ports; hub and feeder ports). Then, a hub-and-spoke network can be established. Dry ports are potential to connect to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. So a Chinese case is used to verify the proposed method. The strategies of embedding inland regions in the BRI are discussed based on the experimental studies.     

The role of inland terminal development in the hinterland access strategies of Spanish ports

The aim of this paper is to understand how inland terminals are developed in relation both to ports and to other inland terminals within a national system.The paper builds on previous work developing inland terminal taxonomies and applies them to the Spanish case, with supplementary focus on the relations between the “dry port” and “extended gate” concepts. Theoretical contributions include both the importance of development direction (land-driven vs sea-driven) and the identification of an emerging spatial disparity in port development strategies between coastal and inland nodes.In Spain, ports retain an interest in inland terminals through minority shareholdings but they are not the primary investors. The principal ports using Spanish inland terminals are Barcelona and Valencia, both of which are also developing logistics zones within their ports. Furthermore, while the ports are developing closer IT links with these inland locations, this does not necessarily indicate greater than normal levels of cooperation. A study of the Spanish system thus raises questions about whether the increasing academic focus on “dry ports” actually signals any change in strategies of port development or intermodal terminal operation. Therefore the final aim of this paper is to question the use of the “dry port” terminology.     

Mitigative and adaptive investments for natural disasters and labor strikes in a seaport–dry port inland logistics network

ABSTRACT

Inland distribution is a crucial link between ocean shipping and terminal consumers. However, such a distribution system is vulnerable to disturbance caused by natural disasters and labor strikes. Pre-event investments, specifically mitigative and adaptive investments, could alleviate the adverse consequences of a disturbance to mitigate the possibility of event occurrence and reduce damage after event occurrence, respectively. This study investigates an inland distribution network that comprises one seaport and one major dry port. Moreover, this research discusses the two existing management models in the network, namely, centralized and decentralized systems. We analyze the optimal investment level when coping with natural disasters and labor strikes and compare the results under different cases. Results show that decentralization will increase the total expected cost, while cooperation is always beneficial in terms of pre-event investment. However, an appropriate cost-sharing plan is required to make the cooperation feasible for a seaport and dry port.     

The Indian dry ports sector, pricing policies and opportunities for public-private partnerships

At the time of writing (2010), the world is witnessing the aftermath of the most severe financial sector meltdown in modern economic history caused by the real estate bubble in the United States. Its consequences on the real economy, especially in Europe, are yet to be fathomed, and this of course includes the longer-term impacts on international ocean transportation, ports and the distribution of global production.The economic recession has left the international shipping and port sectors with substantial overcapacity. This has resulted in drastic cost cutting measures on the one hand, and voluntary, often consensual, and coordinated reduction of supply on the other. These measures, together with a noticeable recovery in demand, are gradually leading again to improvement in prices charged by carriers and other transport service providers.In view of the country’s expanse; size of population; and regional inequalities, India’s dry ports (inland cargo consolidation and distribution centres) are seen by the government as a pivot of export-led growth and economic development (Haralambides & Gujar, 2011). Moreover, public and private sectors alike see the coordinated development of dry ports as the only way forward in terms of easing pressures at congested coastal ports, thus improving supply chain efficiency. In spite of this, dry port development and operations are still dominated by the public sector, under prices, capacity, land acquisition policies and other conditions that make private sector participation risky and comparatively unattractive. In order to rationalize dry port capacity and prices, this paper argues in favour of greater devolution through competition-enhancing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). The paper puts forward recommendations for the necessary legal, regulatory and general economic policy interventions based on international best practice, while keeping Indian specificities in the right perspective.     

Financial and environmental impacts of hypothetical Finnish dry port structure

One main theme of European Union’s in transport policy statements has been the increased role of railways in the reducing environmental impacts and costs of transport activity. One option to increase the modal share of rail transport is to utilize the dry port concept, particularly applicable to general cargo. At the Port of Gothenburg (Sweden) use of this concept in combination with rail transport has led to a reduction of CO₂ emissions, and lower transport energy costs. The main objective and motivation of this research work are to examine through analytical models, how this same dry port concept could be implemented in the Finnish transportation network, with estimates of the benefits being gained.The research method of this study is macro gravitational models of distribution. Main input data for the models are distances and population in the area. The approach aims to research, how relative transport costs behave by increasing the number of dry port distribution locations. For the actual computation work the authors apply linear integer programming. Based on the results, the authors argue that relative transport costs can decrease considerably by increasing the number of dry ports, up to the level of six locations. This is considerably less than what is the current situation in Sweden. The found solution also differs from Sweden as the fragmented Finnish seaport system enables using numerous seaports instead of one, which further decreases inland transportation distances and volumes considerably. At the same time forthcoming sulphur emission reduction regulation (for sea transports) might impact the transportation network structure by decreasing sea transport and the number of seaports used. This might lead to a further increase in land-based hinterland transport.     

Methodological solutions for increased efficiency of modelling and simulation of seaports and inland freight terminals

The paper outlines the results of research aimed at developing an efficient simulation modelling capability for seaports and inland freight terminals. By providing the domain-oriented process of simulation modelling with a uniform and coherent methodological basis and integrating it with artificial intelligence concepts, it was possible to construct a powerful tool—Transnode. This is a decision-support expert system which enables efficient and fast modelling and simulation of any seaport or inland freight terminal, or a group of terminals, large or small, multipurpose or specialized, at optional scale. It produces simulation results which enable a comprehensive analysis of the port or inland terminal to be made as an element of the total transportation framework. Both methodological aspects of the developed solutions and practical features of the Transnode system are discussed in the paper.     

Container terminals in South Korea: problems and panaceas

Korea has achieved remarkable economic growth over the last three decades. This has largely been due to the adoption of export-oriented economic policies. This economic development has resulted in a rapid increase in export and import cargos. Since the foreign trade of Korea is carried predominantly by sea transport (approximately 99.8% in terms of volume), ports play a crucial role in this process. Although recent port developments are aimed at keeping pace with ever-growing seaborne cargoes, problems persist, especially insufficient port capacity and inefficient management and operations. As a consequence, the ports of Korea suffer from serious port congestion. This problem is particularly acute in Pusan, the fifth largest container port in the world. In the past, all ports in Korea were controlled and administered by the Korea Maritime and Port Administration which was a public port authority. In August 1996, the Korean government established a new government organization, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), with a remit to control and manage its seaports and other related activities and to improve management efficiency in the maritime area. As a way of solving problems related to port congestion and other sources of inefficiency, the new MMAF has launched several new port development schemes. In this context, this paper will discuss (1) the extent of congestion in Korean ports, especially Pusan, the major seaport of the country; and (2) governmental and commercial reaction to solving the problems, including measures such as new port development schemes aimed at attracting private and foreign finance. From this analysis, a strategy for port development in developing countries may be inferred.     

Dynamics of Russian dry ports

The transportation of cargos in containers has been intensively developing over the last decades. The world pace of growth in container transport is about 11% annually while in the Russian Federation from 2003 to 2007 the average growth was 21%. Container transportation is going to increase due to the construction of huge infrastructure projects for the Winter Olympics games in Sochi 2014, which implies the transportation of the required material flow. Foreign car assembly on Russian territory is developing, supplied by component parts delivered from Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as from China that now bring 21.3% import container transport to Russia. About 60% of Russian container traffic passes through seaports Saint Petersburg, Novorossiysk and Vladivostok. The scenarios for increasing capacity to meet demands ahead are enhancing the productivity of seaports sites or leading to the creation of terminals in the hinterland. Although the phenomenon of dry ports is spread all over the world, in Russia none of the seaports has sufficient number of these facilities. The inland terminals of Russian seaports will be analysed from a dry port perspective. Despite the impediments, there are ecological and economical benefits that are discussed in the article. The advantages to the transport chain suggest that dry ports are a promising area for Russian seaports’ welfare.     

Locating dry ports on a network: a case study on Tianjin Port

A mathematical model for optimizing the location of dry ports is developed. The objective is to minimize the sum of the transportation costs and the fixed facility opening/closing costs. Unlike previous research on this subject, the possibility of closing existing dry ports is investigated. The dry port location problem is formulated as an integer programming and it is shown that the CFLP is a special case of our problem. The proposed model is then applied to the port of Tianjin in China and the sensitivity analysis is performed to demonstrate the robustness of the model. Our model suggests that while Tianjin Port should open some new dry ports, it might be better off closing those existing dry ports without enough throughputs. Although all parameters estimated should be uncertain in reality, sensitivity analysis shows that the results returned by the model are quite stable.     

Evaluating seaport policy alternatives: a simulation study of terminal leasing policy and system performance

The competitive characteristics of the North American seaport industry have, in theory, been causally linked to excess investment and low terminal throughput productivity. This paper empirically examines the link between seaport authority container terminal leasing policy and throughput productivity. Recent advances in inventory theory applied to service industries suggest the pooling of demand uncertainty can yield lower costs without sacrificing customer service. This concept is applied to a container seaport using simulation. The effort compares key output measures from a realistic base case model of the seaport to those generated by an alternative terminal leasing policy. It is shown that the pooling of demand in a common-user seaport reduces total vessel time in port by 17.1% with no reduction in TEU throughput. Throughput productivity is improved for the highest capacity terminals, while lower capacity terminals are made available for additional users or alternative uses.     

Do mergers and alliances influence European shipping and port competition?

In Europe, ports are confronted with a closer integration in the maritime and shipping industries. The co-operation agreements can take several forms such as alliances and mergers among shipping lines, conferences, involvement of shipping companies in terminal management, and extending interests in inland transport of shipping companies. In this paper we give a brief overview of these different types of agreement and we examine the consequences of this evolution of the market structures in which ports and shipping companies have to operate. More specifically, attention goes to the competitive position of the port in this new environment. It is clear that the role of the port and the port authorities has to be redefined to guarantee that it remains a fully fledged player in this fast evolving integrated market.     

The competitiveness of short sea shipping in multimodal logistics supply chains: service attributes

In Europe, ports are confronted with a closer integration in the maritime and shipping industries. The co-operation agreements can take several forms such as alliances and mergers among shipping lines, conferences, involvement of shipping companies in terminal management, and extending interests in inland transport of shipping companies. In this paper we give a brief overview of these different types of agreement and we examine the consequences of this evolution of the market structures in which ports and shipping companies have to operate. More specifically, attention goes to the competitive position of the port in this new environment. It is clear that the role of the port and the port authorities has to be redefined to guarantee that it remains a fully fledged player in this fast evolving integrated market.     

Evaluating seaport policy alternatives: a simulation study of terminal leasing policy and system performance

The competitive characteristics of the North American seaport industry have, in theory, been causally linked to excess investment and low terminal throughput productivity. This paper empirically examines the link between seaport authority container terminal leasing policy and throughput productivity. Recent advances in inventory theory applied to service industries suggest the pooling of demand uncertainty can yield lower costs without sacrificing customer service. This concept is applied to a container seaport using simulation. The effort compares key output measures from a realistic base case model of the seaport to those generated by an alternative terminal leasing policy. It is shown that the pooling of demand in a common-user seaport reduces total vessel time in port by 17.1% with no reduction in TEU throughput. Throughput productivity is improved for the highest capacity terminals, while lower capacity terminals are made available for additional users or alternative uses.     

Towards a meta-analysis and toolkit for port-related socio-economic impacts: a review of socio-economic impact studies conducted for seaports

Port authorities increasingly need to communicate with a variety of external stakeholders in order to maintain and strengthen the societal acceptance of seaport activities. The availability of socio-economic impact studies on port authority and regional development agency websites has often made this information accessible to the public at large. However, the differences in methodologies adopted, in terms of selecting, defining and measuring various types of socio-economic impacts, sometimes lead to misconceptions as well as misleading comparisons across ports within and between regions. In this paper, we suggest guidelines for the design and application of a potential best practice from an interregional perspective (UK, France and Belgium), based on research in the framework of a European Commission co-funded project, ‘IMPACTE’. The paper also aims to develop guidelines for comparing the socio-economic impacts of ports across regional and national borders and discusses the development of a European port economic impact measurement toolkit. We analyse a sample of 33 recent socio-economic impact assessment reports in terms of methodologies adopted and types of impacts measured. The review shows a great diversity among these studies, leading to important differences between the impacts of port activity communicated to stakeholders.     

Stakeholder Perceptions of Seaport Resilience Strategies: A Case Study of Gulfport (Mississippi) and Providence (Rhode Island)

Climate change is having and will continue to have a range of negative impacts on social–environmental systems. Many ports, with their coastal locations and essential roles in regional and national economies, face particular exposure to storm impacts that may worsen with climate change. Currently in the United States port resilience planning falls primarily on port operators. Engaging a wider range of stakeholders in long-term seaport functioning may reduce risks from disruptive and potentially irreversible impacts of climate change. This study uses empirical data gathered through two case studies of highly exposed U.S. ports, Gulfport (MS) and Providence (RI), to identify strategies that port planners and external stakeholders consider feasible for enhancing their port's resilience. This article categorizes these resilience strategies and suggests the potential role that different stakeholders could play in facilitation and implementation.     

Logistics connectivity considering import and export for Chinese inland regions in the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road by dry ports

This investigation studies the logistics connectivity of inland Chinese provinces along the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) from the perspective of the oriented cooperation relationship between seaports and dry ports in inland regions. The logistics connectivity is measured based on the import and export data. First, complex network theory is used to develop a system for evaluating logistics connectivity of inland regions, involving metrics of susceptible-infected-recovered, and improved closeness centrality proposed to drawing on the characteristics of the studied network based on closeness centrality. Second, based on collected data, 136 dry ports in China and 127 seaports along the MSR have been used to construct an empirical network that covers 15 inland provinces of China. Then, the accessibility and importance of inland provinces are analyzed, and key points that serve the improvement of the logistics connectivity of inland provinces are mined and summarized. An example of an improved scheme for the connectivity of inland provinces is presented to demonstrate the application of these key points. The conclusions drawn support decision-making for local governments to improve the logistics connectivity of inland regions in the international logistics network, and then strengthen the participation of inland provinces in the MSR.     

The mid-Atlantic load centre: Baltimore or Hampton Roads?

Competition between closely situated seaports in not new. The ports of Baltimore and Hampton Roads, located at either end of Cheaspeake Bay, have been locked in a fierece battle to gain dominance in the lucrtice mid-Atlantic container traffic for a number of years. The probability that ech will succeed is not great, as shipping lines, concerned with the high costs associated with idle port time, will select one,rther thatn serve both. Indeed, evidence is beginning to mount that, dispite massive expenditures by the Stte or Maryland, the Virginia ports a reemerging as the region' load centre. This paper examines recent trends in container movements through these two major ports and suggests the long-termprospects for each. among measures considered are the location of eachi in relation to other ports both North and South, sizes of the port cities and their immediately adjacent hinterlands, proximity to inland population centres (markets), connectivity between the ports and these inland centres (by both rail and truck), expenditures by port agencies and land crries, labour relations, and availabillity of space for expansion.     

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。     

Pricing strategies for port competition and cooperation

This paper analyzes the effects of integration between two neighbor ports with a third port sharing the same overlapping hinterland. The merger (integrated port) can select either the price discrimination or uniform pricing strategy after integration. Our study reveals that port integration is always beneficial to the merger and the third port, but results in the reduction of consumer surplus and social welfare, regardless of the type of pricing strategy implemented. Further analysis shows that when the inland transportation cost to the ports is relatively low or sufficiently high, a better option is for the merger to adopt the price discrimination strategy. When port pollution is considered and has a relatively large impact, the integration of the two ports improves green social welfare for the region. This finding provides strong support for the ongoing port integration in China. In terms of pricing strategy, the uniform pricing strategy generates higher green social welfare when both inland transportation cost and pollution are relatively low, or both are significantly high. Otherwise, the price discrimination strategy generates the best result for the region.