Maritime economics and logistics 

About: Maritime economics and logistics is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Port (computer networking) & Computer science. It has an ISSN identifier of 1479-2931. Over the lifetime, 570 publications have been published receiving 17344 citations. The journal is also known as: Maritime economics and logistics & MEL.

The Time Factor in Liner Shipping Services

Abstract: Managing the time factor is an important issue in contemporary liner service design. Increased port congestion and infrastructure constraints are some of the reasons impeding shipping lines from delivering impeccable liner services to their customers. Waiting times and delays put pressure on schedule reliability and might incur logistics costs to the customer. This paper assesses the trade-offs linked to the time factor in liner service schedules from the perspective of a shipping line. The paper not only assesses causes of schedule unreliability, it also discusses the wide array of measures and planning tools shipping lines deploy to maximise schedule reliability.

An Application of AHP on Transhipment Port Selection: A Global Perspective

Abstract: The research presented in this paper applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to reveal and analyse transhipment port selection by global carriers. In all, 47 relevant service attributes were recorded from a literature review. Two rounds of Delphi surveys – followed by brainstorming sessions – were conducted among experts in industry and academia, in order to narrow their number to four main service attributes|[sol]|criteria comprising 12 sub-criteria. An AHP designed questionnaire survey was distributed to 20 port users, which covered the total population of global ocean container operators, and to 20 transhipment service providers (port operators|[sol]|authorities). The results of the AHP analysis revealed that both global container carriers and port service providers had a similar perception of the most important service attributes for transhipment port selection. However, the AHP weight ranking of the sub-criteria involved was not identical between the two surveys, providing scope for further adaptation of service providers to users' priorities. Differences in the performance ranking of six major container ports by global carriers, as revealed in the AHP survey, were then combined with the calculated weights for the 12 transhipment port selection sub-criteria to explore critical attributes where transhipment market strategy could focus. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2004) 6, 70–91.

Coordination in Hinterland Transport Chains: A Major Challenge for the Seaport Community

Abstract: Many different private companies – shipping lines, terminal operating companies, forwarders, hinterland transport providers, and inland terminal operators – are involved in hinterland transport. In addition, different public actors such as the port authority, customs, and infrastructure managers are involved. Creating effective hinterland transport chains requires the coordination between all these actors; coordination does not come about spontaneously. Its development may be hindered by free-riding problems, a lack of contractual relationships, information asymmetry, and a lack of incentives for cooperation. This paper presents analyses of the coordination problems in hinterland chains of seaports and arrangements to resolve these problems. The most relevant coordination problems in hinterland chains are discussed. Based on insights from institutional economics, four main categories of arrangements to improve coordination are identified: the introduction of incentives, the creation of an interfirm alliance, changing the scope of the organisation, and collective action. An analysis is presented of a substantial number of coordination arrangements in hinterland transport to and from the port of Rotterdam, thereby indicating how coordination could be improved.

Port Efficiency and International Trade: Port Efficiency as a Determinant of Maritime Transport Costs

Abstract: This paper examines the determinants of waterborne transport costs, with particular emphasis on the efficiency at port level. Its main contribution is (1) to generate statistically quantifiable measures of port efficiency from a survey of Latin American common user ports, and (2) to estimate a model of waterborne transport costs, including the previously generated port efficiency measures as explanatory variables. In order to incorporate different port efficiency measures from the survey, we use principal component analysis (PCA). Our estimations show that the specified variables in the model explain a great proportion of the change in waterborne transport costs. With regard to port efficiency, the result is especially important for one of the port efficiency measures obtained through PCA with an estimated elasticity equivalent to that of distance. Other explanatory variables which show to be statistically significant are the monthly liner service availability, distance, and the goods' value per ton. The conclusions are relevant for policy makers as they show and quantify that port efficiency is a relevant determinant of a country's competitiveness – and in this respect, there still exist big differences among Latin American countries. Unlike most other relevant variables, port efficiency can be influenced by public policies.

Efficiency in European Seaports with DEA: Evidence from Greece and Portugal

Abstract: In this paper, we compare the seaport efficiency of two European countries, Greece and Portugal, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The international benchmarking procedure is implemented, in which the seaports in each country are compared against each other. The broader aim of this study is to seek out those best practices that will lead to improved performance in the context of European seaport policy. We rank the seaports according to their total productivity for the period 1998–2000. Economic implications arising from the study are considered.