Club convergence and allometry in Chinese mainland coastal container ports

Abstract

Research on container port development is of great theoretical and practical significance because of the port's crucial role in the local economic system and regional transportation system. Understanding the development dynamics of container ports is important when formulating related operational and management strategies in the future. Hence, this article investigates the club convergence of 25 coastal ports in mainland China spanning from 2006 to 2020 in terms of container throughput, which signals the development of a port to some extent. The study finds three clubs in China's coastal container port system, with various transitional behaviors indicating that the whole system has shown a tendency toward a slight centralization since 2013 and that small and medium-sized ports are regressing. On this basis, analysis on the container port system is conducted by employing an allometric model. The result shows that allometric relations indeed exist not only among three factors linked with port development, namely, port container throughput, port city's import-export volume, and port maritime connectivity, but also among the three port clubs. Moreover, the allometric relations slightly differ and vary over time for the three port clubs, thus implying that large ports may have different growth mechanisms from small and medium-sized ports. Based on the findings mentioned above, several general policy implications are proposed, which may impact port production, construction, and operations management in mainland China.