THE PORT FUNCTIONS OF SHIlVIIZU AND THE CHANGES OF ITS HINTERLAND

Abstract

A basic assumption in this paper is that the classification of the spatial structure of a port area is not sufficient forr studying port functions. It is also important in such studies to make clear the relation between port and hinterland and to consider this relationship in terms of port prosperity and decline. However, there are few studies on the hinterland, particularly on its formation and structure. The problems of hinterland have been complicated in the recent decade by the changes in the commodity flow systems especially the progress of containarization, the appearance of special cargo ships, and the construction of exclusive-use berths. It is difficult to study port functions without consideration of the hinterland. In this paper, the author selected Shimizu port and tentatively assumed Shizuoka Prefecture as its hinterland. The purpose of this study was to reconsider port functions and to refine the concept of hinterland. The author researched the commodity flow of seaside factories located at Shimizu port. It was learned upcn inquiry that the transshipment did not take place at the exclusive-use berths of seaside factories. Collection of raw materials at those factories reflected one commodity flow pattern because the commodity flow through the port had been completed there. Then, she researched the commodity flow of factories that had markets in foreign countries which were connected with the public berths for ocean vessels. It was learned that these factories used not only Shimizu, but also Yokohama, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and that Tokyo and Yokohama were used more often than the rest. The commodity flow systems of export container cargo are the primary reason for the ocurrence of this phenomenon. The products are carried out from the factories, packed in containers, and passed through the custom at the nearest feeder service port, Shimizu. But the export container cargo is not always dispatched from Shimizu. Much of it is transported by land to Yokohama or Tokyo, large ports such as Yokohama or Tokyo for container ships, and shipped from there. The transportation system peculiar to container cargo is adopted by the marine transport businesses that attempt to minimize the number of ports-of-call in order to make the best use of container ships. As the marine transport business gives priority to the keep the scheduled time, as far as containner ships are concerned, it is required that the producers hand over export container cargo to the marine transport companies at the feeder service port. As a result, the transpotation costs between the feeder service port and the container ship port-of-call are paid by the marine transport business. In this study, the author came to the conclusions mentioned below; As far as the industrial port including exclusive-use berths for factories is concerned, the existence of a hinterland is not evident. It appears that the distance between port and factory is the factor that decides commodity flow. But as far as the export container cargo is concerned, the above is not always correct. This discrepancy may be explained by emphasizing the commodity flow systems for container cargo, and its hinterland does not always have a circular structure. With progress in containarization, the differentiation of port functions has been promoted. Foreign trade ports are classified into the three types: (A) the port from which container cargo is shipped; (B) the port where container cargo is packed and passed through customs except for the actual loading of ships; and (C) the port where the container cargo can not be handled. A functional hierarchy of ports is reflected between (A) and (B), and the hinterland of the former and that of the latter overlap each other.