Abstract
The ever-increasing tendency toward economic globalization highlights the importance of sustainable container transport networks to a country’s international trade, especially for an economy that is highly dependent on exports. This paper aims to develop a transport network connectivity index (TNCI) to measure the container transport connectivity from a multi-modal perspective. The proposed index is based on both graph theory and economics, considering transport infrastructure and capacity, cargo flow, and capacity utilization. Using the case of South Korea as an example, we apply the TNCI to assess the connectivity of the Busan, Gwangyang, and Incheon ports, representing approximately 96% of the container throughput in South Korea. The calculated TNCI not only provides insight into the assessment of sustainable port competitiveness, it also helps policymakers identify bottlenecks in multi-modal transport networks. To eliminate these bottlenecks, this paper offers some appropriate measures and specific strategies for port development, which in turn improves the connectivity of container transport networks for sustainable development.
Highlights
The tendency toward economic globalization has emphasized world merchandise trade as well as international seaborne trade
Using container transport in South Korea as a case study, this paper aims to develop a transport network connectivity index (TNCI) to examine how containers are transported from the multi-modal perspective
Most containers are transported via roads in South Korea, and relatively low efficiency can be observed in road transport, which negatively affects the connectivity of container transport networks and influences the local economy in a non-sustainable manner
Summary
The tendency toward economic globalization has emphasized world merchandise trade as well as international seaborne trade. According to the Review of Maritime Transport (2017) [1], the volume of international seaborne trade has expanded significantly over the last four decades, rising from 2.61 billion tons in 1970 to 4.01 billion tons in 1990, 8.41 billion tons in 2010, and 10.29 billion tons in 2016. As shown, container trade has increased from 1001 million tons loaded in 2005 to 1280 million tons loaded in 2010, reaching 1720 million tons loaded in 2016. The ever-increasing volume of seaborne trade drives the demand for maritime transport services, especially for container transport services [2]. When providing container transport services, ports play a substantial role as a cluster of loading, unloading, and transshipment activities, shipbrokers, warehousing, and storage services [3] Connectivity between the port and its inland container transport networks has a profound impact on port efficiency and port productivity, as well as on a country’s exports and imports
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