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.     

Rail and multi-modal transport

This paper elaborates on the definitions of inter and multi-modal transport, as well as their differences in terms of performance. A survey of the barriers, both internal and external, to an efficient intermodal transport is included followed by an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of combining rail transport with the other transport modes. Transhipment technologies for efficient freight service and some examples of freight rail corridors between sea and inland terminals are presented. The integration between air and rail transport is discussed and the potential synergies between air and high-speed rail services are emphasised. The paper concludes with a discussion on energy use for sustainable rail performance.     

Mode selection of tractor-and-semitrailer swap transport for ro-ro shipping under land-sea combined transportation

ABSTRACT

Combining ro-ro shipping and tractor-and-semitrailer swap transport under land-sea combined transportation can reduce operating costs and improve the safety of maritime transport. In addition, selection of the tractor-and-semitrailer swap mode (i.e., the ship-swap mode and port-swap mode) is a critical factor that affects the efficiency and cost of ro-ro ship loading/unloading. Considering inland pickup/delivery and ship loading/unloading, this paper develops a model that determines the mode of tractor-and-semitrailer swap transport with the objective of minimizing the total cost. This study also considers constraints such as empty semitrailer exchange and multiple time windows associated with customer receiving/delivery locations and the ro-ro ship. A hybrid simulated annealing (SA) is applied to solve the problem. By analysing numerical examples, the results show that the port-swap mode is more suitable than the ship-swap mode when the number of tasks is large because the port-swap mode can perform more tasks with fewer tractors than the ship-swap mode and because the port-swap mode can service receiving/delivery locations and finish ship loading/unloading more punctually than the ship-swap mode. Thus, this research provides a useful reference for road transport carriers and port firms to select the mode of tractor-and-semitrailer swap transport for ro-ro shipping.     

Incentives to reduce port inefficiency: a theoretical approach

Over the last decades, the European Union (EU) has devoted a large amount of effort and money to projects aimed at boosting some of its maritime corridors as a modal alternative to road or rail freight transport. However, the overall design of most of these programmes has ex post revealed as very ineffective. This paper suggests that promoting port efficiency might be a more suitable target to increase the modal split of Short Sea Shipping (SSS) than subsidizing firms to transfer cargo from road to sea. But defining ‘port efficiency’ is a complex task and, therefore, granting money directly to port authorities could also generate perverse moral hazard effects, particularly when the improvements are difficult to monitor and many investments are non-refundable. The European Court of Auditors points out that millions of EU public port finance was wasted on empty terminal and other unused infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to design a proper subsidy to promote SSS by encouraging port improvements through a proper system of incentives. As a policy recommendation, in this paper we propose the development of a subsidy per inefficiency-reduction unit.     

Ground travel mode choices of air arrivals at regional destinations: The significance of tourism attributes and destination contexts

The aim of this paper is to examine the air leisure arrivals’ ground travel mode choice in the context of their decision to disperse beyond the gateway. A stated choice experiment was designed to examine the dispersal and travel mode choice of leisure visitors arriving on air transport at Cairns. Results show that for a hypothetical public bus alternative, attributes such as ‘sightseeing opportunities’ and ‘driver quality’ were significant for trips made to less known destinations located south of Cairns, compared to destinations north of Cairns. Findings suggest that while travel mode attributes and trip characteristics are significant determinants of the mode choice of air leisure arrivals, the extent of their significance varied markedly across destinations. Although the data examined in this paper were collected in Cairns, this research should be of relevance to many regions interested in understanding the relationship between destination transport and dispersal of air arrivals.     

沿海、内河货物运输合同关系新探

沿海、内河货物运输合同关系,在法律适用方面,以《合同法》和《民法通则》为基本标尺,以《国内水路货物运输规则》为基本规范。相关货运合同的签订,遵循《合同法》规定的要约与承诺方式,运单是运输合同的证明和承运人已经接收货物的收据。未取得《水路运输许可证》的水运企业所签的沿海、内河货物运输合同,应依法认定为有效合同,但这不影响水运行政主管机关对有关承运人追究行政责任。     

Valuing casualty risk reductions from estimated baseline risk

Stated choice studies have been applied regularly to the valuation of time savings and other attributes of travelling as perceived by individuals. In such experiments, respondents often provide reference levels for the attributes and the hypothetical choices presented to them are pivoted around actual behaviour. However, most individuals are not able to provide reference levels for the number of casualties on the road they travel. Thus, if valuation of this important element is attempted, it is the researcher who must provide casualty risk reference levels to the respondents. Some studies have applied route choice experiments including a safety attribute but the majority has been limited to only one particular road section with a common baseline risk for all respondents.     

运输模式选择的计量分析与实证研究

选择何种内陆运输模式对区域经济发展和集约型社会的构建具有重要意义。文章出于循环经济与绿色交通的战略构想，从环境、经济、运输时间、便捷性、土地节约化利用、安全等方面对内河航运和公路运输进行综合比较分析，构建内陆运输模式选择的指标体系。引入模糊综合评价法对2种内陆运输模式进行综合评价，为内陆地区综合运输体系的构建提供参考。以江苏省南北向交通为例进行了实证分析，并对内河航运的发展提出相关建议。     

论《国际海运固体散装货物规则》的实施

文中就《国际海运固体散装货物规则》生效后,根据交通运输部海事局《关于执行<国际海运固体散装货物规则>有关事项的通知》要求,结合国内固体散装货物运输的现状,就海运固体散装货物申报、载运固体散装货物船舶申报进行了细致分析。对载运固体散装货物船舶提出了具体要求。针对检测机构,固体散装货物装、卸作业单位和海事机构监管工作提供了具有可操作性的参考。     

Large oil tankers and the Baltic marine environment: A statistical survey

The short Baltic export route for Russian oil is an attractive source of supply for the European energy market. The article examines the Russian oil export trade in the Baltic based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from 2005 matched with supplementary data. The first part of the article gives a survey of activities and characteristics of 261 large crude oil tankers, their flag states and owner countries. The second part views the data in the context of accidental oil spill risk. Greek and Russian owners are leading carriers in this trade. Russia plays a double leading role as oil exporter and shipowning country, securing major cargo shares for nationally owned vessels, while also giving a preferential spot in the trade to Greek owners. Where environmental aspects are concerned, previous research has linked vessel characteristics with the risk of casualty. Knowledge of flag, age, ownership and activity levels adds useful information about environmental risk. The data show that flags associated with very high casualty or detention probabilities were represented by 18% of the activity in this trade. Older vessels have a similar share, and at this particular time probably represent the more serious threat of accidental oil spills.     

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.     

Impacts of increased rail infrastructure charges in Sweden

The impacts of the already decided increase in rail infrastructure charges in Sweden are described for various market segments within the rail transport system and on the aggregate level for society as a whole. The need for complementary measures in the road transport system is also discussed. Likewise, the paper also mentions the impact of increased rail infrastructure charges on certain significant industrial sectors. An increase in rail charges may reduce social welfare even though the reduction in rail transport mileage is small. This is mainly due to large non-internalised absolute externalities for road freight. For commuter trains, the infrastructure charges' share of the costs of rail transport is expected to rise to 13 percent, which in an international perspective still will be small.     

散装水泥船水泥滑移附加倾侧力臂分析

散装水泥的颗粒大小、堆装形式和休止角等与普通大宗散货（如煤、黄砂、砂石等）不同,其滑移特性对稳性存在不利影响。对散装水泥船的水泥滑移进行了研究,提出了滑移附加倾侧力臂计算方法,为保障内河散装水泥船的稳性安全提供了确实可行的方法。     

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.     

Hinterland strategies of port authorities: A case study of the port of Barcelona

Port authorities generally focus on the development of the local port area and play a minor role in the development of port hinterlands, whereas shippers, forwarders, barge and rail operators have always been involved in the port-hinterland connection. The increasing importance of intermodal hinterland networks for the competitive position of ports has urged port authorities to become active in the hinterland. This new role has already been suggested by different academics. However, limited empirical evidence exists of port authorities taking stakes in inland terminals or developing transport services. Barcelona, as one of the leading port authorities in this respect, is used as a case study in this paper. The case study provides insight in the components and execution of the hinterland strategy of Barcelona. It shows that the strategy of the port authority of Barcelona and the consequent active involvement in the hinterland has had a significant impact on attracting container volumes from distant hinterlands and improving the accessibility of the port.     

散货集装化运输、装船工艺的发展趋势

为了提高生产效率,研发了散货集装化运输、装船工艺。分析这一新工艺形成的背景。将散货集装化运输、装船工艺与传统工艺比较,展示了新工艺的诸多优点。最后,对散货集装化运输、装船工艺与传统工艺的发展前景作了展望。     

N.Y.-N.J.提供奖励铁路货运

纽约和新泽西港务局决定对通过港口码头铁路系统的、超过2008年箱量的每个集装箱支付25美元的奖励给承运人。这是一项Thursday管理局的专员委员会批准的奖励计划，预计将持续一年。如果机构理事会允许，有可能会延长到明年。     

Optimizing the transportation of international container cargoes in Korea

This paper considers a multimodal transportation problem, which is the problem of determining the transportation flow, i.e. volume of container cargoes, and the transportation mode in each trade route, for the objective of minimizing the sum of shipping and inland transportation costs. The problem takes account of two restrictions: maximum cargo volumes capacitated at each seaport and maximum number of vehicles available at each transportation mode. To solve optimally the problem, this paper employs a mixed integer programming, which is an operations research technique. A case study is performed on the container cargo data in Korea and we draw several implications to improve efficiency in the transportation of international trade cargoes in Korea.     

内河航道能力提升对区域交通系统的节能减排效果

为定量评估交通运输方式转换对区域节能减排的贡献,以内河航道能力提升为重点,运用Logit模型计算内河航道能力提升后对铁路和公路货运量的分担率。根据能耗和排放相关参数分别确定运输方式转换前后所需能耗和所产生的CO_2排放量,对比分析内河航道能力提升对区域节能减排的贡献。以山东省小清河复航工程为例,采用所构建的计算模型进行分析,结果显示该项目的节能和CO_2减排量达32. 10%,表明内河航道能力提升对区域交通系统的节能减排效果显著。     

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.