Regulating efficiency into port-oriented chain systems: export coal through the Dalrymple Bay Terminal, Australia

Supply chains generally, and port-oriented chains more particularly, are not easily integrated for operational efficiency. This is not especially surprising given their complexity and the underlying power relationships by which they are structured. Nonetheless, integration that does occur may reflect efforts to re-engineer the chain; or, not unusually, it may be the result of substantial, market-based rationalization and consolidation of the industry through corporate restructuring by merger, acquisition or joint venture. Much less common, at least in a ports/shipping context, is the attempt to induce supply-chain integration and operational efficiency by direct application of regulatory power and through the intervention of a regulator into the marketplace. In April 2005 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian competition regulator, intervened in the export coal chain which is oriented on the large coal handling terminal at Dalrymple Bay in Queensland. The Commission, through its authorization powers, allowed the terminal operator to introduce a queue management system designed, inter alia, to reduce ship queuing at the terminal and in so doing reduce the costs of ship demurrage and its negative impacts on exports. This paper focuses particularly, but not only, on the conceptual relationships between regulation and supply chain efficiency; and it examines the mechanisms, processes and outcomes in the Dalrymple Bay case.     

Global supply chain and port/terminal: integration and competitiveness

Much has been said of the importance of port and terminal integration in the supply chain. Authors have stressed the importance of agility to the port environment, which involves being proactive along supply chains, facilitation of intermodal integration, as well as organizational integration and partnership between ports and users. Despite the well articulated importance of the issues, little has been offered in terms of conceptualizations and empirical evidence of what really is meant by port/terminal integration in the supply chain, how such integration can be measured and quantified as well as the extent to which different ports/terminals in the world are integrated in the supply chain and competitive performance implications arising thereof. This paper aims to make a contribution in this respect by (i) reviewing the relevant literature on supply chain integration and port integration in the supply chain, (ii) conceptualizing measures for port/terminal integration in the supply chain, (iii) empirically testing the influence of port/terminal integration in the supply chain on port competitiveness and (iv) outlining the significance and value of the study for port operators, shipping lines, transport providers and for further research.     

Global supply chain and port/terminal: integration and competitiveness

Much has been said of the importance of port and terminal integration in the supply chain. Authors have stressed the importance of agility to the port environment, which involves being proactive along supply chains, facilitation of intermodal integration, as well as organizational integration and partnership between ports and users. Despite the well articulated importance of the issues, little has been offered in terms of conceptualizations and empirical evidence of what really is meant by port/terminal integration in the supply chain, how such integration can be measured and quantified as well as the extent to which different ports/terminals in the world are integrated in the supply chain and competitive performance implications arising thereof. This paper aims to make a contribution in this respect by (i) reviewing the relevant literature on supply chain integration and port integration in the supply chain, (ii) conceptualizing measures for port/terminal integration in the supply chain, (iii) empirically testing the influence of port/terminal integration in the supply chain on port competitiveness and (iv) outlining the significance and value of the study for port operators, shipping lines, transport providers and for further research.     

Competitive status of US ports in the mid-1980s

Competition among US ports has heightened significantly in the 1980s, in large part due to the rising importance of intermodal transportation systems. This paper measures the shares of national waterborne imports and exports for the eight largest US ports and their changes between 1985 and 1987. It examines the decline of East-Coast ports, especially New York, and the ascendancy of their West-Coast counterparts, notably Los Angeles and Seattle, on the basis of 42 commodity groups. Finally, it documents the minibridge and reverse minibridge systems as they pertain to the emerging pattern of winners and losers.     

Extended gate operations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach: a preliminary assessment

The paper examines the implementation of extended gate operations at the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports. The programme, known as PierPASS, assesses a Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) on eligible containers moved into and out of the ports during peak hours. The fees are intended to defray the costs of extended operations at the ports.

In this paper we focus on the implementation of the programme and its outcomes over a year of operation. We discuss the motivations and actions of key stakeholders and place our examination in the institutional framework of the goods movement supply chain. Our results are based primarily on a series of extended interviews with stakeholders, together with data provided by PierPASS and by three drayage trucker surveys. We find that the PierPASS programme was a response by terminal operators and steamship companies to growing political pressure. Given their market power within the supply chain, they were able to create a programme that protected their interests yet responded to political imperative. The PierPASS programme has been a success: the peak fee has shifted a significant share of cargo to evenings and weekends, as intended. Winners and losers of PierPASS reflect the larger structure of the international supply chain.     

Extended gate operations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach: a preliminary assessment

The paper examines the implementation of extended gate operations at the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports. The programme, known as PierPASS, assesses a Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) on eligible containers moved into and out of the ports during peak hours. The fees are intended to defray the costs of extended operations at the ports.

In this paper we focus on the implementation of the programme and its outcomes over a year of operation. We discuss the motivations and actions of key stakeholders and place our examination in the institutional framework of the goods movement supply chain. Our results are based primarily on a series of extended interviews with stakeholders, together with data provided by PierPASS and by three drayage trucker surveys. We find that the PierPASS programme was a response by terminal operators and steamship companies to growing political pressure. Given their market power within the supply chain, they were able to create a programme that protected their interests yet responded to political imperative. The PierPASS programme has been a success: the peak fee has shifted a significant share of cargo to evenings and weekends, as intended. Winners and losers of PierPASS reflect the larger structure of the international supply chain.     

全球供应链视角的东亚港口物流服务绩效与趋势分析*

东亚港口基于旺盛的贸易运输需求而在全球供应链体系中崛起,同时也因为港口拥挤等问题而存在降低贸易成本的空间。首先从全球供应链视角解析港口物流服务格局,突出了东亚地区、特别是中国港口的地位,评价港口物流的综合绩效和竞争状态,然后对发展趋势做出预测。研究发现：东亚港口将通过持续投资实现供给需求的动态平衡;日本地震引致的全球供应链重组将使港口物流服务发生结构性变化,东亚将加强跨国港口物流合作以满足区域经济一体化的要求。     

精细化动力配煤在煤炭中转码头的运用

华能太仓港区煤炭中转码头项目采用新型精细化动力配煤技术,为长江下游沿江电厂提供定制的适合锅炉稳定高效工作的低成本动力配煤.该项目配煤技术方案运用由PLC、高精度电子皮带称和可变立轮活化给料机组成的数字化自动流量闭环控制给煤系统实现精细化实时配煤,并结合堆场取料外运流程使已按设定控制流量汇聚在一条胶带输送机上的各参配煤流在后续的运输过程中自然混匀后装船.这种新型精细化动力配煤技术具有工程投资和运行成本低廉、产品性能实时稳定可控的特点.     

Mature hub ports in the free trade environment,the way forward from a global supply chain perspective: an Asian case

Asia-Pacific countries with divergent economic and political backgrounds developed a regime of bilateral free trade agreements in response to globalization. Challenged by the 1997 and 2008 financial crises, this Asian trade regime has remained intact, although the most powerful stakeholders have changed positions, as indicated by the strong emergence of China in the past decade. Efforts of key trading partners to tackle non-tariff barriers (e.g., rule of origin and customs formalities) in the region have yielded little progress thus far. Instead of aiming at a regional consensus on non-tariff barriers by all member states, a global supply chain (GSC) approach is recommended. Mature hub ports at strategic locations with advanced institutional measures could set up international trade facilitation centers co-locating multinational customs formalities. This GSC approach may also be adopted to construct a GSC hub development model that explains the transformation of hub ports.     

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.     

广州内河港总体规划

广州内河港属于典型的海运供应链末端型港口。以广州内河港总体规划研究为例,探讨末端型内河港空间布局特征及规划思路,为同类型港口的规划工作提供参考借鉴。     

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.     

A DEA study of the efficiency of 122 iron ore and coal ports and of 15/17 countries in 2005

This paper, using data envelopment analysis, assesses the efficiency of 122 iron ore and coal ports in 2005. Estimates for 54 loading and 68 unloading ports show that the main source of inefficiency in bulk terminals is related to the scale. Results aggregated at a country level demonstrate that the national efficiency can be achieved either through a limited number of large ports or by combining smaller ports with complementary characteristics—national network effect.     

U.S. ports: evolution and structure

U.S. ports are facing competitive pressures similar to those being felt by ports elsewhere around the world. Despite the public enterprise nature of U.S. port authorities, they tend to function as 'business-like' organizations. This enterprise-like approach stems from their evolution from being primarily private railroad ports in the 19th century to public competitive port authorities in the 20th century. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of U.S. ports and the ongoing effect of earlier legislation, the varied resulting institutional structures, and current national and regional level issues. Although there is no national ports plan or strategy in the U.S.A. (the Constitution limits federal actions in the ports field) the federal government is involved in providing dredging services through the Army Corps of Engineers, navigation aids via the Coast Guard and other minor port-related services. U.S. ports typically come under the jurisdiction of state or local governments. Increasing competition coupled with other port issues (growing financial constraints, difficulties in obtaining dredging permits, environmental concerns and restricted landside access) is forcing some U.S. ports to enter into strategic alliances with others at a regional level.     

Competition model of cruise home ports based on the cruise supply chain – based on China cruise market

This paper addresses issues of cruise home port competition based on the cruise supply chain. A pricing model of the cruise market is developed considering the competitive cooperation behaviors of the participants in the cruise supply chain. Furthermore, a model of cruise home port competition is developed to investigate the impacts of subsidy participants in the cruise supply chain on cruise home ports. The results indicate that subsidy policies change the market equilibrium, promote the upstream and downstream integration of cruise supply chain, and enhance cruise home port competitiveness. Subsidies to cruise line increase the payoffs of cruise supply chain and ports’ profit. Subsidies to travel agency decrease passenger costs and improve all ports’ profits. For the long-term development of cruise home port, the consequents can be used as policy suggestions.     

Port reform in Australia: issues in the ownership debate

Australia port reform initiatives have taken on a variety of forms — from out-right sale and transfer of ownership, to the sale of particular assets of infrastructure or services, or to long-term lease arrangements; or in some cases state governments, unable to relinquish control, have opted for corporatization or commercialization strategies. Reform is driven by the belief that ownership impacts on efficiency and efficiency is perceived to suffer if governments either retain ownership or direct control. As a result a major aim of reform is to either remove or distance governments from day to day port operations. The sale of ports removes government control outright and privatized ports are subject to identical regulatory constraints as any company in the private sector. But corporatization strategies are such that government ownership is retained and ports have been transformed into statutory state owned corporations. Effectiveness of this strategy requires legislation to be such that port corporations are free to operate like their private sector counterparts. To date this has not occurred and some serious impediments are emerging which are embedded in legislation and which, rather than reduce, have indeed, increased government control.     

Institutional structure of Canadian ports

Canada's federal government is responsible for ports. Despite this, an integrated national ports system has not been established. The Canadian system includes: the Canada Ports Corporation; Harbour Commissions; and Transport Canada's Public Harbours. These are historic divisions. Following a failed 1970s attempt to place all ports within Transport Canada, in 1983 parliament opted for a Crown corporation model in establishing the Canada Ports Corporation for Canada's major ports. This paper addresses the question of whether, in today's increasingly competitive environment, a more integrated and businesslike national system of ports is required. Alternative systems range from centralization to regionalization and enhanced 'commercialization' of local ports to privatization. A suggested alternative for Canada includes incorporating all commercial ports within the Canada Ports Corporation, using a regional system for planning, and augmenting local autonomy of financially self-sufficient ports by making them crown corporations. Eventual privatization of the expanded Canada Port Corporation is also considered.     

International cooperation in Maritime casualty Investigations: an analysis of IMO RESOLUTION A.637 (1 6)

On 19 October 1989, the International Maritime Organization adopted a joint uslliberian resolution meant to advance international cooperation in maritime casualty investigations. This resolution reflected an international determination to achieve greater cooperation between different states in investigative matters, in a manner consistent with international law. This paper examines how the IMO resolution addresses some of the inherent problems in such a multi-national industry. It also examines the question of whether us lawmakers may, or should, impose stricter controls and restrictions unilaterally on foreign-flag ships which call on us ports.     

铁矿石和煤炭码头生产电力消耗特点分析

铁矿石和煤炭是我国港口作业的主要货种,掌握铁矿石和煤炭码头生产电力消耗特点,有针对性地采取节能减排措施,将有利于促进港口节能减排目标的实现。根据某港新投入营运码头生产电力消耗统计数据,分析其生产电力消耗特点。     

International cooperation in Maritime casualty Investigations: an analysis of IMO RESOLUTION A.637 (1 6)

On 19 October 1989, the International Maritime Organization adopted a joint uslliberian resolution meant to advance international cooperation in maritime casualty investigations. This resolution reflected an international determination to achieve greater cooperation between different states in investigative matters, in a manner consistent with international law. This paper examines how the IMO resolution addresses some of the inherent problems in such a multi-national industry. It also examines the question of whether us lawmakers may, or should, impose stricter controls and restrictions unilaterally on foreign-flag ships which call on us ports.