Productivity changes in Taiwan's port industry incorporating environmental regulations on harbor water quality

Abstract

This paper evaluates the productivity changes in Taiwan's port industry for the period 2003–2007. Based on a ‘three-year-window’ data envelopment analysis method, Luenberger productivity indicators are employed to estimate the productivity changes that account for the success of attempts by port agents to control harbor water quality. This is one of the typical environmental concerns in port operations that prior studies on port productivity changes over time have not considered. The results show that the productivity of Taiwan's port industry has experienced growth over the study period, regardless of whether water quality has been considered or not. At a disaggregated level, however, if a port agent has succeeded in controlling water quality, but we do not consider it, the results will misclassify the agent by understating the port's productivity.     

Seaport research: A structured literature review on methodological issues since the 1980s

This study aims to investigate how seaport research has been conducted from the methodological perspective. To this end, this study reviews published port literature for the last three decades (1980-2000s). The investigation primarily categorises the literature according to various methodological issues such as research paradigm, research strategy, base-disciplines, research methods and analysis techniques in order to provide meaningful implications on methodological evolution in seaport research for the period. This study suggests methodological bias in port research to a positivistic paradigm, following a quantitative trajectory moving from conceptual to empirical studies. In addition, the increased use of mathematical modelling and advanced statistical analysis methods is clearly observed. The introduction of advanced analytical tools used in other academic disciplines facilitates discussions in particular research area and amplifies the literature in those areas. This paper also suggests research gaps from the methodological perspective and implications for future port research.     

Port Economics,Policy and Management: Content Classification and Survey

This paper presents a taxonomy and analysis of the content of published research in port economics, policy and management (port studies). The recent increase of these publications suggests a growing interest in the study of ports. However, the research characteristics and directions of this research field are unidentified. This paper provides a systematic analysis of port studies published during the period 1997–2008. A comprehensive cross-citation and analysis of the themes, approaches and findings of all 395 relevant journal papers identifies the extent to which the research field is maturing, and the leading papers. This paper also presents an extensive analysis of the content, based on the classification of all port studies into seven research themes. For each theme, research topics, widely used research questions, concepts and research methods and the most important research findings are discussed. Finally, we identify emerging research challenges and research questions that still need to be answered.     

Decision makers and socializers, social networks and the role of individuals as participants

Models explaining and predicting human travel behavior have gone through many changes in the past few decades. As researchers attempt to explain more and predict with more accuracy, the inclusion of social interactions in modeling and simulation is being recognized as a necessity. Among these efforts, researchers have focused on issues such as the composition of social networks, and the constraints and influences that others have on spatial decisions. An important aspect that has been understudied however is the variability or heterogeneity of individuals both as social network members and as participants in these social networks. Understanding the role individuals play in decision-making in different social networks can further define our models to include more accurate representations of human behavior. This research explores the differences between social network composition, and the decision roles members play within different social networks specifically when deciding where to participate in activities. A survey was conducted in Santa Barbara, California on social network involvement, network attributes and decision-making roles within each network. Two separate latent class cluster analysis models were developed to classify social network involvement and roles. Results show that there are clearly different types of social involvement and roles within networks. Further data collection and analysis will be used to better understand how these decision-making roles manifest themselves in activity decision-making.     

Collaborative Logistics from the Perspective of Road Transportation Companies

ABSTRACT

To survive under the ever increasing competitive and global pressures to operate more efficiently, transportation companies are obliged to adopt a collaborative focus. Various types of cooperative supply chain relationships have been discussed in both professional and academic literature over the last decades. However, research on horizontal cooperation in logistics remains scarce and scattered across various research domains. Companies operating at the same level of the supply chain and performing comparable logistics functions may cooperate horizontally to increase their productivity, improve their service level and enhance their market position. In this paper, the focus is on the operational planning of horizontal cooperations between road transportation carriers. Following a scientific literature review, a distinction may be made between two operational approaches to horizontal logistics collaboration: order sharing and capacity sharing. For both research streams, a detailed overview of solution techniques proposed in literature is presented. Moreover, some interesting opportunities for future research are identified.     

Modal shift from road haulage to short sea shipping: a systematic literature review and research directions

ABSTRACT

Modal shift from road haulage to short sea shipping (SSS) has been advocated by authorities and researchers for more than two decades. This paper provides a review of literature on modal shift and pinpoints paths for future research on topics in six categories: (1) factors influencing SSS competitiveness, (2) the policy-oriented perspective, (3) environmental legislation, (4) SSS performance, (5) port characteristics, and (6) the multi-agent perspective. In particular, we propose first, in evaluating the performance of SSS versus road haulage in different trade corridors, three performance-related dimensions – the economic dimension (e.g. external costs), the environmental dimension, and the dimension of service quality – should be considered. Second, researchers should use rich, real-world, numerical data and operational research techniques to identify the relative importance of individual drivers and barriers for a modal shift from road haulage to SSS. Third proposed direction is related to assessing which groups of actors certain policies should target. In doing so, researchers should extend their policy-related focus beyond the European Union, which has long encompassed the major geopolitical scope of research on the modal shift. Fourth, to moderate the adverse impact of environmental legislation on SSS, strategic solutions need to be identified. Fifth, we also suggest that the influence of contingencies, particularly port strikes and cyberattacks, on SSS operations and approaches for managing them should be investigated. Sixth, the economic and financial advantages of coordination and alliance for each transport chain agent need to be evaluated.     

Earmarking in the US Department of Transportation Research Programs

US Department of Transportation research funds historically have been awarded on the basis of competition and merit review. Over the last 15 years, however, transportation research programs have seen dramatic growth in earmarking, a practice in which Congress designates research funds for specific institutions named in legislation. This paper discusses driving forces for and potential risks associated with this practice and presents data on earmarking trends from five USDOT agencies.     

When it comes to container port efficiency,are all developing regions equal?

In this paper we carry out a container port performance analysis of the developing world between 2000 and 2010, using both parametric and nonparametric approaches. From a unique dataset – our sample covers 70 developing countries, 203 ports, and 1750 data points–, we examine the evolution and drivers of productivity and efficiency changes across developing regions. We show that productivity growth rates between 2000 and 2010 vary significantly and that this heterogeneity is explained by pure efficiency changes rather than scale efficiency of technological changes. Therefore, we carry out a detailed efficiency analysis to determine the drivers of port efficiency. Time series results show an upward trend for port efficiency in developing regions, as it increased from 51 percent in 2000 to 61 percent in 2010. Our analysis indicates that private sector participation, the reduction of corruption in the public sector, improvements in liner connectivity and the existence of multimodal links increase the level of port efficiency in developing regions.     

A decision support system for port selection

Abstract

A number of studies have been carried out on the factors determining port choice, derived from the perspectives of shippers, carriers or both. Recently, some studies using multi-criteria analysis, more specifically Saaty's analytical hierarchy process (AHP), have been undertaken to address port competitiveness and port selection by shipping lines. Based on a review of the literature on port selection, this article proposes a decision support system (DSS) for port selection using AHP methodology. The proposed DSS is web-based and thus it can be accessed by more decision makers and data collection can be carried out faster. Moreover, AHP addresses the issue of how to structure a complex decision problem, identify its criteria, measure the interaction among them and finally synthesise all the information to arrive at priorities, which depict preferences. AHP is able to assist port managers in obtaining a detailed understanding of the criteria and address the port selection problem utilising multi-criteria analysis. This article presents the architecture and the port selection procedure of the web-based DSS, and then illustrates three different cases. It shows how technology advancement can bring positive effects of strategic planning to shipping firms.     

Road safety: Research and reality 6th Reuben Smeed memorial lecture

Research has had a major influence in advancing road safety in Britain over more than 60 years. Lessons learnt in the early years provide a model for effective conduct of research of high quality to aid and influence practice and policy making. As the control of road safety research has become more widespread over the last decade and effort more diffused, problems have arisen which militate against the appropriateness and successful application of findings. Conflicts between researchers, practitioners and policy makers stem from lack of mutual understanding of their roles, the need to balance scientific rigour against the urgency of government and practice, and inadequate coherent communication.The potential for road casualty reduction in Britain has been addressed at intervals since the early 1960s. Assessment of the latest trends in casualties, set against current activities to achieve target reductions, shows the need for a further update to redefine priorities. For future advancement of road safety, a 20-point plan of activities is suggested. Technical, social, economic and institutional difficulties, of varying degrees, will need to be overcome to achieve the objectives of the plan. Most importantly, the academic and professional standing of road safety workers needs to be raised.     

Partial productivity measures and total factor productivity in the air transport industry: Limitations and uses

In recent years the measurement of productivity has increasingly focused on measuring total factor productivity or TFP. Additional research has investigated the reasons for differences in TFP between firms. The implicit assumption behind this work is that simpler measures of industry productivity (such as revenue ton-miles per employee) can seriously misstate both the level and growth rate of productivity. As a result, accurate analysis of productivity requires information on TFP. While this argument is not open to debate on a theoretical basis, the extent that simple measures of productivity inaccurately portray TFP has not been investigated in anything but a cursory manner. This paper investigates the relationship between typical industry measures of productivity and TFP using a data set of U.S. and non-U.S. airlines for the period 1970–1983. The paper examines both levels of productivity and growth rates. The results indicate the extent to which industry measures accurately or inaccurately reflect the more comprehensive measure of productivity (TFP). To the extent that industry measures are inaccurate, this paper investigates the possible sources of error in order to determine if slightly altered industry measures might more accurately reflect TFP.     

基于WOS数据库的文献计量分析的城市交通事故态势研究

为从宏观上了解交通事故的研究态势,利用文献计量法对WOS数据库收录的474篇文献进行数据可视化分析。研究发现,发文量历经了零阶段、稳定阶段和上升阶段;中国研究机构数量和发文量都位于世界第一;研究领域形成了由122位作者组成的核心作者群体;研究方向经历了以交通参与者、道路交通事故、交通事故安全为研究目的的变化;关键词分析得出该领域未来的研究热点将集中在交通事故安全、交通事故严重程度及交通事故影响三方面。     

How big data enriches maritime research – a critical review of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data applications

ABSTRACT

The information-rich vessel movement data provided by the Automatic Identification System (AIS) has gained much popularity over the past decade, during which the employment of satellite-based receivers has enabled wide coverage and improved data quality. The application of AIS data has developed from simply navigation-oriented research to now include trade flow estimation, emission accounting, and vessel performance monitoring. The AIS now provides high frequency, real-time positioning and sailing patterns for almost the whole world's commercial fleet, and therefore, in combination with supplementary databases and analyses, AIS data has arguably kickstarted the era of digitisation in the shipping industry. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive review of the literature regarding AIS applications by dividing it into three development stages, namely, basic application, extended application, and advanced application. Each stage contains two to three application fields, and in total we identified seven application fields, including (1) AIS data mining, (2) navigation safety, (3) ship behaviour analysis, (4) environmental evaluation, (5) trade analysis, (6) ship and port performance, and (7) Arctic shipping. We found that the original application of AIS data to navigation safety has, with the improvement of data accessibility, evolved into diverse applications in various directions. Moreover, we summarised the major methodologies in the literature into four categories, these being (1) data processing and mining, (2) index measurement, (3) causality analysis, and (4) operational research. Undoubtedly, the applications of AIS data will be further expanded in the foreseeable future. This will not only provide a more comprehensive understanding of voyage performance and allow researchers to examine shipping market dynamics from the micro level, but also the abundance of AIS data may also open up the rather opaque aspect of how shipping companies release information to external authorities, including the International Maritime Organization, port states, scientists and researchers. It is expected that more multi-disciplinary AIS studies will emerge in the coming years. We believe that this study will shed further light on the future development of AIS studies.     

Productivity change in transport: a survey

Because of the importance of transport in promoting economic development, there has been a long‐standing interest in the performance of transport industries and in the conditions which are likely to promote productivity growth. Fundamental to any debate on the subject, though, is the need to advance a satisfactory account of production and a way of deciding when productive performance has changed. This paper points out that there are pitfalls in the common practice of using measures such as output per man‐hour as an indicator of productivity and argues that a thorough understanding of the relationships between inputs and outputs can proceed from a knowledge of the economic theory of production.

The paper describes the relevant theoretical concepts and then examines applications of that theory in transport industries. It transpires that there is a growing literature on the subject, demonstrating a worldwide and multimodal interest in developing more rigorous and satisfying ways of measuring and analysing productivity difference. The techniques employed range from the more complex models at the forefront of economic theory, to rudimentary methods which are, at best, capable of testing only the simplest types of hypotheses. Nevertheless, it is argued that these studies have achieved a remarkable degree of success in enhancing analysis.

There can be no doubt that techniques will undergo further developments. However, it is likely that the greatest successes will come about through improvements in data which will permit applications of more complex, but proven techniques of analysis in relatively neglected areas such as road and maritime transport.     

Symbolic transport choice across national cultures: theoretical considerations for research design

A recently empirically isolated latent variable in transport choice is symbolism, which examines what people believe their transport choices say to others about them and how they are judged in a social context. Whilst it is well established that symbolism differs vertically across different socio-economic groups within a country, very little work has been done on how symbolism in transport may differ between similar individuals across nations as a function of national cultural values, and how this may manifest itself in transport choices. If significant differences were to be found then this could have impacts for transport policy formulation and transfer. This paper explores and discusses these issues and concludes that the initial goal of any research into symbolic transport choices across cultures is theoretical fertility, and this is best achieved by adopting Lakatosian research programmes, using theory-driven thematic analysis to develop theoretical models for testing.     

Towards improved port capacity investment decisions under uncertainty: a real options approach

ABSTRACT

Port activity plays an important role in facilitating international trade. Sufficient capacity is indispensable for a port to attract flows to a region and retain them. The capacity decision is the result of a trade-off between investment and waiting costs. Traditional methods to value expansion projects do not deal adequately with managerial flexibility in the face of uncertainty from different sources in the complex port environment. In this paper, real options (RO) models are identified as an alternative method to making project valuations and investment decisions, as they attribute the correct value to managerial flexibility under uncertainty. In order to be able to build and use such RO models for port capacity investment decisions, the sources and implications of uncertainty in the port and the different RO model specifications need to be understood. To this end, both the literature about uncertainty in the port context and the literature about real options models are reviewed in order to provide researchers who want to build their own decision-making models, with the necessary knowledge of both fields. The review makes clear that the complex interactions in and competition between the logistics chains and their actors coming together in ports have significant impacts on port capacity. Uncertainty is also caused by uncertain international trade flows and changes in legislation following new technologies and environmental impacts. An analysis of the components of some general RO models shows how the options of flexible output, investment size and timing are valued by RO models in a setting with demand uncertainty. Moreover, the review presents researchers with insights in how to deal with cooperative and competitive interactions in the chain, time to build, cyclical markets and legislation changes. It also shows how to value the expansion and the phased investment options. The new insights resulting from this review are subsequently combined in a framework that serves as a guideline to build RO models for port capacity investments. Finally, an exemplifying application of the framework is used to build an actual port capacity investment decision model.     

Greening ports and maritime logistics: A review

This paper aims to examine the past and present research on ‘green ports and maritime logistics’ in order to identify established research streams and fertile research areas with potential for future investigations. Using rigorous bibliometric and network analysis tools, the paper completes a systemic mapping of the existing literature and identifies the key investigators, collaboration patterns, research clusters and interrelationships, and the “seminal research areas” that have provided the field with the foundational knowledge, concepts, theories, tools, and techniques. Major articles within each seminal research area are also identified. This will allow new researchers to quickly build understanding in a particular sub-field by reading these major articles. The findings obtained from the evolution of seminal research areas over time are important from both research and practice perspectives and can help the field grow in many dimensions.     

Reversing port rotation directions in a container liner shipping network

Reversing port rotation directions of ship routes is a practical alteration of container liner shipping networks. The port rotation directions of ship routes not only affect the transit time of containers, as has been recognized by the literature, but also the shipping capacity and transshipment cost. This paper aims to obtain the optimal port rotation directions that minimize the generalized network-wide cost including transshipment cost, slot-purchasing cost and inventory cost. A mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed for the optimal port rotation direction optimization problem and it nests a minimum cost multi-commodity network flow model. The proposed model is applied to a liner shipping network operated by a global liner shipping company. Results demonstrate that real-case instances could be efficiently solved and significant cost reductions are gained by optimization of port rotation directions.