Minimum Efficient Scale (MES) and preferred scale of container terminals

The decision on the scale of a port terminal affects the terminal’s managerial, operational and competitive position in all the phases of its life. It also affects competition structures in the port in which the terminal is operating, and has a potential impact on other terminals. Port authorities and terminal operators need to know the scale of the terminal when engaging in concession agreements. In economic theory the scale of a plant/firm is typically defined in relation to the Minimum Efficient Scale (MES), the long-run output where the internal economies of scale are fully exploited. However, there are a number of theoretical and empirical indications that in ports the scale of a terminal is commonly guided by a combination of the MES and other determining factors. The “preferred” scale is the result of a complex interaction between the MES, the port governance framework and objectives, the market size and structure, technological change and operational considerations, physical and geographical limitations, and the business patterns of shipping lines. This study analyses the factors resulting in a preferred container terminal scale that in most of the times is different from the MES. The analysis of the technical, market-related and governance-related factors is supported by theoretical and empirical insights that illustrate the presence of a range of actual ”preferred” scales of terminal concessions that usually are different, below or above, MES.     

电磁仿真技术在异步牵引电机转子优化设计中的应用

针对解析法无法对电机转子局部结构导致的损耗和励磁电流进行定量分析的问题,文章提出在采用解析法进行初步方案计算的基础上,引入电磁仿真技术,并以190 kW异步牵引电机为例,分析和计算了附加损耗以及空载电流随通风孔数量的变化,通过试验验证了采用电磁仿真技术的有效性.     

Origin–destination synthesis for aviation network data: examining hub operations in the domestic and international US markets

Hub‐and‐spoke networking is a key feature of current aviation markets in which hubs, as connecting points, function to consolidate and redistribute flows. This indicates that observation of traffic on a segment does not necessarily convey information about the origin to destination routing of passenger journeys because of the unavoidable detours in the system. This paper examines the heterogeneity of the flow composition in domestic and international US markets, which in turn allows us to observe the variation of operations across major hubs. A modified Route Flow Estimator for origin–destination synthesis (or origin–destination matrix estimation) is designed to decompose the segment traffic into itinerary‐based passenger trips. Several public and commercial databases, which are easily accessible, are exploited (and reconciled) for the model in order to (i) generate possible trip itineraries using those segment markets, and (ii) link data‐driven operational conditions with the underlying segment flows. The results are validated with US domestic trip observations and empirical knowledge related to the air transportation system. Then, the variability of the hub operations is examined based on sensitivity tests using the model parameters. From the resolution of itinerary‐based estimates, we observe that major airports' hub operations are spatially uneven, particularly with respect to domestic and international connecting passengers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The implications of MARPOL Annex V on the management of ports and coastal communities

Abstract

The passage of the Marine Plastics Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (MPPRCA), which codified Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), has encompassed every commercial and recreational shipping and boating facility in the United States. As a group, these ports, harbors, and marinas form a significant, although proportionately small, portion of the coastline of the country. More important, the economic benefits derived from the complex shoreside infrastructures required for international ocean trade, commercial and recreational fishing, and pleasure boating indicate just how critical it is for these facilities to be in conformance with effective and prudent coastal zone and environmental management practices.     

The social context of informal commuting: Slugs, strangers and structuration

Despite considerable interest in the role of social interactions and social context on transportation, there have been very few attempts to explore specific cases of social interaction influencing transportation systems. This paper explores the social practice of slugging, an informal system of carpooling in the Washington, DC area. Slugging emerged in response to the establishment of Virginia’s High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the early 1970s, as single drivers picked up riders alongside the road (slugs) in order to meet the requirements for driving in the less congested HOV lanes. Drawing on the work of sociologist Anthony Giddens, as well as the sociological insights of Georg Simmel and Stanley Milgram, we suggest that the practice of slugging highlights the processes of institutionalization and structuration. This paper details how the region’s mass transportation policies and urban culture have combined to result in an institutionalized practice with particular norms and logics of behavior. We conclude that looking at specific cases where social context has affected transportation, like slugging, could provide useful insights on the impact of social context on transportation policies and systems.     

Discipline in British merchant ships

This paper describes a model which may be used in the evaluation of the relative effectiveness of policies used in the areas of ship chartering and the switching of combined carriers between the dry-cargo market and the tanker market. The policies for chartering and market switiching are expressed in the form of ‘desired proportions’ of the fleet operating in a particular charter-mode or a particular market. Graphical illustration of this form of expression of policies can be easily understood, so that alternative policies can be designed with relative case. The effectiveness of a particular from of policy under various freight market conditions can be determined from the model, the use of which is illustrated by its application to the deployment of the fleet of an hypothetical shipping company. It is assumed that the feedback connection between the company's actions and the market-place is negligible.     

将安全及环境保护置于一切之上

今天,我将冒着一定的风险来预言一些在下一世纪开始阶段,会出现在航运业内的某些事物的形态.很显然,我会着重谈一些IMO活动范围以内的事.     

Les systèmes de vélos en libre-service expliquent-ils le retour du vélo en ville ?

Many French and European cities have developed a bike sharing system since 2005. This policy may be explained in a great part by the success of the Velo??v in Lyon, which contributed to improve the image of cycling in the city. If bicycles, however, appear to find a new place in the city, one can wonder whether this is really due to bike sharing systems? What are the real uses of bicycles in contemporary cities, with or without such a system? To answer these questions, the paper starts with a literature review on bicycle in the city, to draw lessons from recent experiences of bike sharing systems. It then discusses the two cases of Lyon and Lille, which never had a bike sharing system on its own. The evolution of bicycle use is measured with a comparison of household transportation surveys in Lyon (1995 and 1998) and Lille (1998 and 2006). In both cities, the analysis reveals a rise in the proportion of healthiest citizens among urban bikers, as well as a return of bikes in dense areas. Bike sharing systems are part of such tendencies. They support them, but should not become a panacea for policies supporting bike use in the city.