Assessing the economic significance of port activity: evidence from ABP Operations in industrial South Wales

The paper seeks to improve the evidence base surrounding regional ports and their economic impact. The paper reveals that industries dependent on the port infrastructure are actually key regional players, often operating in relatively fast growth sectors, and contributing to the economic and social needs of the local economy. The focus in the case element of the paper is the operations of Associated British Ports (ABP) plc in industrial South Wales. In examining the direct and indirect consequences of the port activity the paper adopts an input–output framework of analysis. A better contextualization of the economic impact of ports is shown to be necessary in the devolved policy-making environment in the region.     

NAFTA and Canadian ports

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed by Canada, the U.S.A. and Mexico and which came into effect on 1 January 1994, is a significant move towards further integration of the North American economies. This paper examines the likely impact of NAFTA on Canadian ports. Three channels of impact are identified. First, there are direct impacts on trade flows between Canada and its North American trading partners. In this regard we find that ports do not typically handle the types of products that are likely to be affected by NAFTA, and so the direct impacts may be minimal. Second, and more significantly, port catchment areas are likely to undergo substantial changes as they respond to a more competitive environment within the free trade area. Third, the transportation sector has itself been included in NAFTA, and Canadian ports will face increased competition from land based transportation modes. We conclude that ports in Canada must learn to work more consciously as agents of regional economic development.     

Ranking of factors contributing to higher performance in the ocean transportation industry: a multi-attribute utility theory approach

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed by Canada, the U.S.A. and Mexico and which came into effect on 1 January 1994, is a significant move towards further integration of the North American economies. This paper examines the likely impact of NAFTA on Canadian ports. Three channels of impact are identified. First, there are direct impacts on trade flows between Canada and its North American trading partners. In this regard we find that ports do not typically handle the types of products that are likely to be affected by NAFTA, and so the direct impacts may be minimal. Second, and more significantly, port catchment areas are likely to undergo substantial changes as they respond to a more competitive environment within the free trade area. Third, the transportation sector has itself been included in NAFTA, and Canadian ports will face increased competition from land based transportation modes. We conclude that ports in Canada must learn to work more consciously as agents of regional economic development.     

The impact of muddy bottoms in ports

Ports are drivers of regional and of countries’ economic development. Most ports are built close to coastlines, where waters are shallower and tend to suffer from deposit sedimentation processes, which reduce depths in operational areas. In presence of shallow waters and sedimentation, ports must decide whether to dredge or not, where both decisions have significant impacts on ports’ annual incomes. Nevertheless, there are seabeds, namely muddy bottoms, in which vessels can navigate with a safety degree. This paper aims at investigating the extent to which the theoretical knowledge of vessel’s control in muddy waters is valid at a certain nautical bottom, as defined by the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (since 2009 the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure but the acronym stays PIANC) and its impact on port economics. To achieve the proposed objective, an email survey was sent to worldwide pilots that manoeuvre ships in muddy waters. The survey validated the theoretical knowledge, showed that navigation in muddy waters is possible, that it can contribute to reduce ports’ operational costs, and that the subject can be rather controversial.     

腹地经济发展对港口吞吐量影响的动态研究

腹地经济规模和经济结构的变化影响着港口的发展方向，但是一般的静态回归模型中解释变量参数是固定的，无法反应腹地各种影响因素变化对港口吞吐量产生的动态影响，而变参数状态空间模型克服了这一缺陷，解释变量的参数可以随时间改变，充分体现了解释变量对因变量影响关系的改变，因此能够更加准确反映考察期内腹地各种因素对港口吞吐量的动态影响。在介绍模型的基础上，就东北经济对大连港集装箱吞吐量影响进行了实证研究，得出了较为详尽的结论，这些结论是港口未来发展的重要决策依据。     

Sustainable development in seaports: a multi-case study

Seaports are a vital part of the maritime transport industry and have a key role in integrated transport chains and regional economies. However, ports are also sites of environmental pollution originating from land-based activities, ship movements and ports’ own activities. It is, therefore, increasingly recognised that economic growth in ports must be balanced with environmental protection and social progress. This has led to enhanced appreciation of the need for sustainable development (SD) in ports. Whilst much has been written about port environmental practices in European and American ports, there is limited synthesis and comparison of sustainable port practices from different parts of the world. Furthermore, in-depth case analysis and critical examination of the practices and challenges of sustainable port development in a globalised era is limited. This paper presents findings from a qualitative multi-case study that aimed to compare sustainable policies and practices of ports in four different continents and to understand the dilemmas, challenges and opportunities they face in attaining SD. This paper reports findings pertaining to the following research questions: (1) What policy frameworks do ports adopt to attain sustainable development? (2) What specific sustainable practices do ports utilise to manage environmental aspects such as air pollution, water quality, ballast water, dredging and disposal of dredged materials, waste disposal, hazardous substances and land/resource use? (3) What are the driving and constraining forces in achieving sustainable development in ports? Port authorities were studied by reviewing documents and secondary data. The following ports were studied: Port of Long Beach (USA), Port of Rotterdam Authority (The Netherlands), Sydney Ports Corporation (Australia) and Transnet Limited that owns and manages South African ports. Findings of the study demonstrate that the SD paradigm has gained momentum, albeit to differing degrees, in the functioning, organisation and the very ethos of case study ports. An important theme from all case studies is that, whilst there is definite progress towards SD, several practices deemed to be sustainable can be controversial and must be critically examined from the perspectives of different stakeholders including shippers, port-related businesses and the local and global community. Lack of data to monitor environmental impacts, economic costs of implementing sustainable practices and complexities of international, regional and national regulations were other constraining factors. On the other hand, reconciling differences between stakeholders and capitalising on economic opportunities, operational efficiencies and cost savings offered by environmental friendliness can advance port SD. Public–private partnerships and policies negotiated by involving all stakeholders were found to foster port sustainability. Most importantly, this study found that, with globalisation, environmental impacts of ports are not always localised. ‘Sustainable’ practices can have unintended consequences in other parts of the world. Therefore, globalisation necessitates a more critical and global analysis of port operations and environment practices in order to be truly sustainable. Although the scope of the research findings is limited to case study ports, the lessons drawn can be constructively applied to any port operating within an institutional system of structured SD.     

青岛港铁矿石物流发展研究

随着世界经济区域化、国际化、一体化的发展,以港口为中心的现代物流日益成为区域经济发展的"动脉",进而成为区域经济发展的"龙头"。2001年以来,青岛港提出建设区域性航运中心、发展港口物流的发展战略,本文正是以此为背景而进行的。青岛港已经具备了发展港口物流的各种良好优势和条件,建设铁矿石物流中心的前景看好。     

大连港吞吐量与腹地经济发展关系研究

文章采用圈层结构法将大连港腹地划分为三个圈层范围,并通过构建哈夫引力模型分析各圈层经济指标与港口吞吐量之间的关系。结果表明：各圈层的经济指标对港口吞吐量的影响存在可量化的差异,从营口港对大连港吞吐量的实际影响出发,分析原因,并在两港腹地资源竞争分析基础上,提出区域化合作将是两港未来发展的理性选择。     

Specialization and economic impact of the ports of Montreal,Quebec, Saint John,and Halifax

Specialization in cargoes and forelands is defined for the ports of Montreal, Quebec, Saint John, and Halifax using a variation of the location quotient. Economic impact is also defined using the location quotient. All ports are shown to have some degree of specialization; whereas, Saint John and Halifax have relatively greater economic impact. It is suggested that the four ports should be encouraged to develop their specializations. However, are the benefits to the shipping industry in following such a policy outweighed by the losses to the local economies because investment in certain ports does not take place?     

Specialization and economic impact of the ports of Montreal, Quebec, Saint John, and Halifax

Specialization in cargoes and forelands is defined for the ports of Montreal, Quebec, Saint John, and Halifax using a variation of the location quotient. Economic impact is also defined using the location quotient. All ports are shown to have some degree of specialization; whereas, Saint John and Halifax have relatively greater economic impact. It is suggested that the four ports should be encouraged to develop their specializations. However, are the benefits to the shipping industry in following such a policy outweighed by the losses to the local economies because investment in certain ports does not take place?     

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.     

长江南京以下沿江港口对12.5m深水航道的效益响应

将长江南京以下9个规模以上沿江港口作为12. 5 m深水航道的受益对象,利用2009—2017年港口吞吐量资料分析评价12. 5 m深水航道开通对长江南京以下沿线港口的影响及实际效益。结果表明,12. 5 m深水航道开通以来沿江港口货物总吞吐量整体呈平稳增长态势,2016年初通至南京后,货物总吞吐量年增长率达到8%; 2017年南京以下主要港口完成的货物总吞吐量(24. 25亿t)是2009年深水航道开通前的1. 8倍;深水航道开通后集装箱吞吐量涨幅最明显,散杂货吞吐量占比则较开通前略有下降; 12. 5 m深水航道开通8年来,南京以下沿江港口经济效益整体呈平稳增长态势,2017年产生的港口经济效益(13. 4亿元)比2010年增长近60%。未来随着航道、船舶以及沿江港口码头等条件的持续改善,12. 5 m深水航道的综合效益还将进一步凸显。     

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.     

港口集装箱运输与区域经济发展互动关系研究——以长江三角洲港口群为例

利用生产函数增长模型及灰色关联分析方法,探讨了长三角地区港口集装箱吞吐量与区域经济之间的互动关系,定量计算两者之间存在的关联度及港口生产指标对于经济增长的贡献,对长三角港口群与区域经济协调发展进行针对性分析.     

Upstream transport corridor inefficiencies and the implications for port performance: a case analysis of Mombasa Port and the Northern Corridor

The role of efficient ports in the socio-economic prosperity of national and regional economies cannot be overstated. However, their ability to effectively deliver on this role is easily undermined by circumstances in the wider socio-economic context, particularly poor hinterland connectivity. In order to enhance international trade connectivity, many advanced and advancing economies continue to invest significant resources in developing efficient ports and hinterland transport networks. The situation is different in many parts of the developing world, particularly Africa, where poor economic connectivity and inefficient gateway ports result in prohibitively high transportation costs. Focusing on the northern trade and transport corridor in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region, this article examines how poor hinterland connectivity undermines the performance of Mombasa port. It concludes that, although the port’s management has in recent years invested significantly in performance-enhancing initiatives, their success is limited by a constricted economic environment that is characterised by poor hinterland connectivity and chronic logistics bottlenecks along the arterial corridor.     

The strategic role of ports in regional development: conceptualising the experience from Australia

Regional ports, as infrastructure in regions, influence transport and regional development policies and planning. The interaction and involvement of regional ports with their stakeholders in the region are pivotal. The conundrum on what constitutes a regional port and thus its region has further complicated this limited researched area. In the extant literature, port and region relationship mainly centres on major metropolitan ports, and pays little heed to regional ports. In this context, this study investigates on how the Australian regional ports can be better involved in regional development. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to explore the Australian regional port stakeholders’ perceptions on port’s role in regional development through 38 semi-structured telephone interviews. Thematic analysis of data assisted by a mixture of NVivo software and manual techniques proposes a conceptual model that may assist policy-making. The key findings suggest that symbiotic growths of ports and concerned regions accelerate regional development. To contribute to regional development, the Australian regional ports can be proactive in building collaboration with regional organisations. The findings have major implications for port managers and port policy-makers for developing a region-oriented long-term port planning and for creating environment for Australian regional ports for regional resource configuration.     

The impact of a port on its local economy: the case of Plymouth

It has been suggested in two potentially influential documents that the development of ports could be an important tool of regional economic growth in areas such as South West England. This proposition is analysed in this article by detailed examination of the case of Plymouth, one of the areas in the region for which port development has been mooted. It is concluded that the Plymouth evidence suggests that it is easy to exaggerate the existing and potential role of ports in the regional development process. Ports are not big employers of labour and are no longer the inter-related industrial complexes that they once were. In most cases, therefore, they serve industry in areas distant from their own.     

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.     

Fuzzy empty containers excess estimation as an economic indicator—the case of the north Adriatic port system

Today, approximately 90% of the world’s cargo is moved by ships and almost all general cargoes are transported in containers. Worldwide container traffic has increased over the last 20 years by 7% annually, and containerization has begun to seriously impact global trade patterns. As a result, container terminals have become very important nodes in the world’s supply chain. In this article, we have highlighted the link between the total and empty container traffic and the global economy. By way of example, we have analysed the empty container traffic in north Adriatic ports in the years before and during the global economic crisis and in a period of stability after the major economic slump. We used a fuzzy multicriteria algorithm to find out how the global crisis, which has affected ports, influences the number of excess empty containers at the terminals. We show that these factors, in particular the change of the global financial and economic situation, have different repercussions to the ports of the north Adriatic: less serious effects upon the ports that are well connected locally and substantial consequences for the ports that are well connected globally.     

Assessment of port economic impacts on regional economy with a case study on the Port of Lisbon

This article presents a method of assessing the economic impacts of ports at both regional level and national level, through application of input–output analysis. To this end, a methodology for data collection is proposed, which combines a top-down with a bottom-up approach which should help in surpassing some of the difficulties commonly faced in port economic impact studies. The presented methodology allows port planners and policymakers to assess the economic significance and geographic reach of port investments. This study considers the economic impacts of the port cluster and the socio-economic significance of port user industries. The several layers of the analysis are kept separate to allow a better grasp of direct and indirect impacts. The proposed methodology is demonstrated in a study of the Port of Lisbon, which confirms the significance of this port to the Portuguese economy, and also demonstrates that the influence of the Port of Lisbon is mostly limited to an area in close proximity to the port. Therefore, results suggest that investments for the development of logistic infrastructures associated with the port should concentrate in the immediate hinterland of the port.