Container port systems in China and the USA: a comparative study

This study compares the evolution of container port systems in China and the USA in terms of port throughput, number of container ports and the concentration level in the container port system, based on the time-series data on these three features over the period 1979–2009 for China and 1970–2009 for the USA. The results show that the densities of container ports in the two countries are similar, and their evolutionary processes are alike, which has led to a comparable market structure in the port industries of the two countries. In addition, the disparities between container ports closely represent the unevenness in the regional economic development. We further compare the port management regimes of the two countries in terms of the administrative processes for port development and expansion, the ownership structure and the providers of port functions, which offer some explanation on the dynamics of port evolution in the two countries. In conclusion, it can be seen that the evolution of the container port system and the management regime in the USA can be a de facto reference for the future development of the Chinese container port system.     

我国经济发展阶段性特征及对沿海港口影响的分析

在系统整理改革开放30多年来我国经济、港口发展数据的基础上,将我国经济历程划分为6个发展阶段,探讨不同阶段经济发展特征及对沿海港口的影响。展望未来20年我国经济发展趋势,预测港口吞吐量发展水平,提出2025年左右港口吞吐量发展将出现拐点,并对沿海港口发展与建设提出意见与建议。     

Development of port service network in OBOR via capacity sharing: an idea from Zhejiang province in China

The ‘Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road’ (One Belt One Road, OBOR) strategy initiated by the Chinese government has a significant impact on the business and logistics modes which involves Asia, Europe, Africa, and their adjacent seas. Many countries and ports are developing new strategies that are suitable for this economic environment. Compared with many ports in the world, the ports in Zhejiang province of China have a novel property. In addition to Ningbo-Zhoushan port, there are several other sea ports and river ports in that province. In this paper, we propose a concept of port service network that consists of a huge hub and multiple ports. Ports of small and medium sizes can share their capacities of different types of port service with the hub when the service capacities are integrated into the network. We develop a mixed integer nonlinear programming model to determine the optimal decisions in such a network with constraints on the budget to conduct integration. An optimization algorithm incorporated with a genetic algorithm is developed to solve large size problems. We provide managerial insights on the policies of government, including expanding port capacity, reducing fixed integration cost, and providing better financial condition.     

港口建设:大手笔更需大眼界

随着经济全球化和现代物流的发展,我国经济进入了新一轮上升周期。港口的崛起是中国经济迅速发展的一个缩影。眼下全国各地港口建设如火如荼,高歌猛进。然而,在其大张旗鼓忙建设的背后,记者隐约感觉到一丝不安与担忧。     

中国港口向现代服务业转型发展的思考

目前,虽然我国港口取得了快速发展,但服务功能大多仍停留在传统的货物运输和装卸层面,物流服务功能等还未得到充分拓展,与经济社会发展的要求还有差距。基于港口向现代服务业转型的内涵,针对我国港口发展实际,从提升传统服务功能、拓展物流服务功能、加快大宗商品交易平台建设等几个方面提出我国港口向现代服务业转型发展的对策建议。     

基于灰色关联分析和综合评价法的港口与产业发展关系研究*

日本濑户内海地区港口和城市发展对日本经济发展作用巨大,是港城协调发展的典型,值得关注和研究。为探究该地区港口与产业发展间的关系,以港口吞吐量和集装箱吞吐量表示地区港口发展状况,以从业人数和产业总产值表示地区产业发展状况,首先基于灰色关联分析法对各县港口与产业发展间的关系进行比较分析,总结归纳发展对策,为辽宁沿海经济带的港口与产业发展提供借鉴。然后,建立兼顾均衡性与功能性的综合评价模型,确定影响濑户内海地区产业发展水平的主要港口指标为港口吞吐量。最后,将其与其它评价模型进行比较,结果表明构建的综合评价模型与现实更吻合,能够更准确地对整个濑户内海地区的港口与产业发展关系进行综合评价研究。     

锦州港25万吨级油品码头建设规划

近几年，锦州港港口吞吐量有了快速的增长，成品油的吞吐量在全港各货种中一直居于首位，对锦州港的发展举足轻重。目前锦州港油泊位的设计通过能力只有470万t／a，而2003年已完成油品吞吐量为720万t。现有设计能力已经远远不能满足锦州港发展要求。根据这种情况，锦州港拟建设25万吨级油品码头，以满足未来发展的需求，同时加强锦州港在环渤海经济区港群中的市场竞争地位。     

Vertical integration and its implications to port expansion

ABSTRACT

Over the years many shipping lines have established terminal operation companies, with some set up as independent firms. However, port authorities and local governments have not always welcomed external investment and control with open arms. The economic implications and each stakeholder’s best strategies remain unclear. This study develops an analytical model in order to study the effects of vertical integration, with a focus on shipping lines’ investment in ports’ capacity. Modelling results suggest that vertical integration between terminal operator and a shipping line leads to higher port capacity, port charge, market output and consumer surplus. It also reduces delay costs. All these results suggest that vertical integration can be an important source of synergy for the maritime industry. Although vertical integration increases the participating carrier’s output at the expenses of non-integrating rival shipping firms, our numerical analysis suggests that the overall social welfare is likely to increase. Preliminary empirical tests confirm that vertically integrated ports handle more traffic volumes and are associated with better infrastructure and equipment. Therefore, port authorities and government regulators should carefully review the market competition status as well as port expansion plans.     

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。     

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。     

第四代港口对中国港口建设的启示

旨在探讨第四代港口对中国港口建设的重要启示,以期为新形势下的中国港口建设提供理论支撑。基于前期研究及联合国贸发会的港口代际发展模型,研究并指出第四代港口是积极主动参与国际经贸决策和组织各类经济活动的前方调度总站,分析了第四代港口的主要特征及其对我国港口建设的重要启示。主要结论是：中国港口建设应大力发展和吸引陆向腹地物流,进一步加强国际航运中心建设以及优化港口布局。     

Disaster prevention and strategic investment for multiple ports in a region: cooperation or not

With the growth of maritime transportation, seaports have become critical to the world economy as linking nodes between shipping and inland transport. However, the port system is fragile under certain unconventional emergency events. This study addresses the issue of investment on disaster prevention within the port competition context. The present model discusses and compares four situations of different relationships and strategies of pre-disaster prevention between two adjacent ports. Results indicate that both ports increase the disaster prevention investment under the cooperation scenario compared with that in the case of non-cooperation wherein they are complementary ports. Meanwhile, a numerical simulation is conducted to examine the collective and individual rationality of both ports. Although cooperation strategy decreases the total risk cost of two ports, one of the two ports may profit, whereas the other may suffer losses.     

产业结构调整与我国沿海港口吞吐量的关系

从实证经济学的分析观点出发,利用投入产出的方法,研究了我国产业结构与沿海港口吞吐量的关联性,并结合回归方法分析了新一轮的产业结构调整对沿海港口吞吐量产生的影响。研究结果表明：这种方法真实地反映了产业结构调整与沿海港口吞吐量之间的数理逻辑关系和未来发展的走向,沿海港口吞吐量的增长受产业结构调整的影响逐步放缓,在越过拐点后将趋于稳定。     

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 size effect of a port on the container handling efficiency level and market share in internation transshipment flow

This study examines the relationship between the size of a port, its efficiency increase and the performance growth in the transshipment market. The hypothesis tested is that the bigger size of a port would increase the market share of the port in container transshipment; only when the size effect guarantees better ‘relative’ container handling efficiency in competing port system where the port belongs. To verify the hypothesis, this study carries out two analyses. First, the overall efficiency change of major Asian ports is examined through stochastic frontier analysis (SFA)—this produces the relative efficiency indices of the ports. Second, the relationship between efficiency indices and container transshipment volumes is studied through panel data analysis. From these analyses, it is observed that larger Asian ports show better cargo handling efficiency in relative terms; they also record bigger market share in container transshipment, while the size effect of the ports starts to play a factor when the annual container throughput reaches 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).     

江苏沿海港口吞吐量影响因素及预测分析

目前江苏沿海地区综合开发已上升到国家发展战略层面,沿海港口建设正在迅猛开展。港口吞吐量的预测对于港口的建设有着极其重要的意义。以港口和腹地之间的互动关系为出发点,分析了可能影响江苏沿海港口吞吐量的若干因素,采用主成分分析法提取了过去10年影响港口吞吐量的最关键因素,剖析了江苏港口发展的内在影响机理,并提出了基于影响机理的预测模型。最后使用模型对江苏港口吞吐量进行验证分析,模型为江苏沿海港口新一轮发展提供了有力的数据支撑。     

The political economy of ports in the United States and Great Britain

Abstract

This is an exploration of the political economy of ports in the United States and Great Britain. A number of technical, economic, and political issues concerning ports are examined. Particular attention is paid to the institutional evolution of ports from private to public ownership, and its consequences for port efficiency. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations designed to reverse the trend toward port nationalization in both countries.     

Terminal investment timing decisions in a competitive setting with uncertainty using a real option approach

This paper uses a real option approach to analyze terminal investment timing decisions for situations in which a port faces competition from its rivals in an uncertain market. We propose a network model to describe carriers’ cargo routing decisions and competition among rival ports. We then transform this model into a multicommodity flow problem and use the column generation algorithm to solve it. After obtaining a port’s possible future annual revenues and the potential net present value (NPV) for its terminal construction project through the network model, we adopt the expanded NPV rule and transform the investment timing decision into an optimal stopping problem. A least squares Monte Carlo simulation algorithm is proposed to find the investing probabilities for future years. The proposed models are applied to a steel cargo terminal investment case in the Port of Bengbu in Anhui province of China. The impacts on the investing probability and the expanded NPV of changes in the demand volatility, the initial investment and the port discharging rate are analyzed to provide managerial insights for port managers.     

Which terminals should expand investment: a perspective of internal non-cooperative competition in a port?

ABSTRACT

With the increasing container cargo throughput and the arising of port congestion, container ports start to choose the investment expansion strategy to increase the port efficiency and then to figure out the problem of port congestion. To analyze this strategy, we formulate a non-cooperative game model for a two-terminals-one-port system, and derive the optimal equilibrium outcomes of the investment expansion strategy and investment constant strategy. In the game, we find that when the investment parameter of expansion strategy and impact of handling efficiency on demand changes, both pure-strategy Nash equilibrium and mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium exist, and two terminals are more likely to choose the investment expansion strategy in most cases. Numerical simulation is applied to explore the equilibrium strategy under different circumstance.     

A Delphi analysis on green performance evaluation indices for ports in China

This study identified a set of applicable and practical green performance evaluation indices for Chinese ports using the Delphi technique. The research was conducted by targeting three representative Chinese ports in Eastern China: the Shanghai Port, Ningbo Port, and Qingdao Port. An effective expert panel was structured with direct stakeholders related to green performance, which was based on a sufficient consideration of the unique and the special decision-making system for Chinese ports. Twenty-one green performance indices in six dimensions (i.e. liquid pollution management, air pollution management, noise control, low carbon regulations and energy savings, marine biology preservation, and organization and management) were eventually identified through three rounds of iterations. The identified green performance indices for Chinese ports are highly consistent with the Chinese Government’s environmental policies. Compared with European ports, the green port performance indicators in China are not as comprehensive. The indicators that are strictly consistent with national macro policies and the factors that are more easily seen, heard, and felt were perceived to be more important. From an academic perspective, this study offers a new approach for system establishment and green practice criteria exploration and thus provides a significant basis for further green port studies.