Port Competition Research Articles

Marketing Strategy to Increase Port Competitiveness

PT IPC Petikemas Tanjung Priok Jakarta is the service company related to the container terminal sector. The aim of the research is to find out the company’s internal and external factors as well as the company’s strategy to improve its performance especially for the marketing factor. The research method used descriptive method and used SWOT as the data analysis technique. The result in the first quadrant shows an aggressive position. The strategy is using all power it has to take advantage of the existing opportunities. It suggests to formulate the marketing strategies in order to increase the competitiveness of PT IPC Terminal Petikemas and to build the system to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the operational services. The result also shows that the company should maintain good relation with its customers by giving rewards and discounts, should improve the quality of Human Resources and should create opportunities to develop new innovations. The strategy could be applied through website electronic systems and social media. The company should supervise the operational activities and to promote widely to prepare and overcome the impact of the economic instability.

Smart port: A bibliometric review and future research directions

Smart ports can be regarded as the solution that addresses the new challenges faced by international trade and logistics systems. By deeply integrating digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, smart ports can greatly increase their capacity for intelligent operation and optimal allocation of resources in port operation, which will enable continuous improvement in the competitiveness of ports as they meet the various challenges ahead. In this paper a systematic bibliometric review of smart ports is conducted by analyzing the existing publications related to smart ports. The development status of studies on smart ports is discussed, and both existing problems and key research gaps in this field are identified. In addition, performance indicators and future development trends are discussed. The purpose of this work is to lay a solid academic foundation in the field of smart ports, and to propose open research directions that will stimulate interest in this area. Furthermore, through an in-depth analysis of the existing studies on smart ports, the problems existing in current smart port studies are revealed, and targeted suggestions are put forward, which will have a positive impact on smart port studies in the future.

Connectivity and competitiveness of the major Mediterranean container ports using ‘Benefit-of-the-Doubt’ and ‘Common Sets of Weights’ methods in Data Envelopment Analysis

Connectivity and competitiveness of the major Mediterranean container ports using ‘Benefit-of-the-Doubt’ and ‘Common Sets of Weights’ methods in Data Envelopment Analysis

Evaluation of Japanese port policies through network analysis

Although the Japanese government has implemented port reforms since the 1990s in response to declining international competitiveness of Japan's container ports, Japanese ports have continued to decline, at least in terms of containerized cargo handling volume. However, since the relative share of port handling volumes would naturally decline with the growth in other emerging Asian economies, it may be unfair to evaluate Japan's port policies or international presence solely in terms of cargo handling volume. This study evaluates Japan's port policies based on centrality analysis of Keihin and Hanshin Ports, which are the targets of the policies, in the context of global maritime container network. The results of the network analysis reveal that the rankings of Keihin and Hanshin in each centrality index have declined while major ports in Asia have consistently ranked high in the global marine container transport network. However, the increased importance of the Asian major ports in the network, combined with the strengthening of links of both ports to other Asian major ports, does not result in a decline in the presence of Keihin and Hanshin in the network as much as a decline in the ranking of cargo handling volume. In addition, the three scenario analyses confirm that Keihin and Hanshin would be further enhanced if the policy goal of strengthening domestic hub functions is fully achieved, and that a policy shift to dependence on hub ports in Asia for transshipment functions would ensure their presence on the network. In addition, as Japanese ports are highly dependent on Pusan, they are extremely vulnerable to the malfunction of Pusan in terms of network structure; thus, making Keihin and Hanshin function as domestic hubs is crucial to address this problem. Moreover, considering the vulnerability in the network structure in addition to the centrality index helps evaluate the reasonableness of Japan's port policies.

A systematic literature review on port competitiveness

ABSTRACT The continuous investment and expansion of ports has introduced new requirements for the sustainable development of seaports. Port competitiveness is an increasingly relevant subject due to the value that ports create for enterprises in the maritime supply chain. As the functions and requirements of ports evolve, this article aims to present an up-to-date review of the research trends and future directions of port competitiveness. A systematic literature review was performed to comprehensively gather and review 81 journal papers on port competitiveness published in the past two decades. The result shows a hierarchy of the top ten port competitiveness drivers based on their research frequency in the literature, categorised into four aspects. The frequency ranking of port competitiveness strategy is further summarised based on the reviewed papers. This paper also provides a critical analysis of port competitiveness mechanism in order to identify research trends, gaps, and future research directions.

Regional classification and competitiveness of port cluster: a case study of China's coastal ports

ABSTRACT Many studies on port competitiveness try to understand which aspects will affect the competitive performance of ports. However, there are few studies from the perspective of port clusters. This paper, by reviewing the history of port competitiveness research to explain the need for research in the context of port clusters, and construct an indicator system from the perspective of port cluster development in terms of port throughput capacity, scale, development potential and intra-cluster development environment. The entropy TOPSIS method is used to objectively evaluate the competitiveness level of each port within the major port clusters in China and try to improve the Boston matrix model to identify each port type. We found that from 2014 to 2019, cash cow ports such as Shanghai Port, Shenzhen Port, and Ningbo Zhoushan Port maintained great development status. The port competitiveness of the Bohai Bay Port cluster is not prominent, while the port competitiveness of the Yangtze River Delta port cluster and Pearl River Delta port cluster shows obvious polarisation. The prediction results based on the improved Boston matrix model are consistent with the actual situation of port development, which can assist future decision-making. The results reveal the relationship between cooperation and competition in the process of port integration.

중국 광시 베이부만의 물류경쟁력 평가 및 분석에 관한 연구

China’s strategy of “One Belt, One Road” brings considerable development opportunities to the Beibu Gulf in Guangxi Province. With considerations to development situations of the Beibu Gulf, influencing factors of logistics development in the Beibu Gulf were analyzed and an evaluation system of logistics competitiveness of ports was established in the present study. Moreover, competitiveness of ports was investigated using the entropy weight method. Some strategies to improve logistics competitiveness of ports in the Beibu Gulf in Guangxi Province were proposed according to analysis results. first, Ports in the Beibu Gulf shall take the initiative to expand capacities, increase berths, develop importance of basic functions, further increase cargo passing capacity, realize multi-mode cooperation of “railway, highway and waterway”, shorten transport mileage, save operating cost, and thereby increase cargo handling capacity. second, A port logistics center with industrial clusters and integrated functions is built up by centering at modernized ports. Ports shall set up waterway, highway and railway combined transport center to match with modern logistics system. Moreover, traffic facilities shall be perfected to relieve traffic pressure at ports and increase their collecting and distribution efficiencies. third, Facing with new economic situations, the Beibu Gulf spares no effort to promote structural reform and take stable growth and promoting structural reform as the principal line of economic work of the year. Centered at the goal of economic development, it is adjusting industrial structures, changing development mode, improving people’s living standards and perfect social insurance system. Under the premise of perfecting and consolidating agricultural economic and stable development of industrial economy, the Beibu Gulf shall develop service industry vigorously and further optimize the economic structure. Forth, After successful settlement of the Guangxi FAZ, the Qinzhou Port area can drive foreign trade economy to some extent and stimulate development of logistics service industry and relevant industries indirectly. The importance of FAZ to port logistics lies in its freedom and convenience. Hence, freedom and convenience of ports shall be concerned fully to strengthen logistics competitiveness of ports. In addition, impacts and challenges from other ports will surely intensify the resource competition of port logistics in future. Hence, it has to further improve freedom and convenience of the Beibu Gulf to cope with increasing challenges and threats.

How should ports share risk of natural and climate change disasters? Analytical modelling and implications for adaptation investments

This study theoretically examines disaster adaptation investments under risk of natural disasters. Given two neighboring, competitive ports, the disasters may cause independent damages to either port, or to both ports simultaneously; consequently, some shippers avoid loss by using the unaffected port if an independent disaster occurs in their local port. Since such inter-port risk sharing benefit increases with the share of independent disasters in all disasters, the socially optimal investment decreases with the disaster independence. However, the risk sharing benefit only attributes to the shippers' surplus and does not attribute to profits from the port management, so it does not affect investment of private port authorities that maximize the profits. Such an ignorance of the risk sharing benefit by the private port authorities is likely to lead to underinvestment in disaster adaptation facilities under a lower disaster independence.

Examining the effects of COVID-19 on logistics and supply chain networks in Oman.

Our study analyzes the economic impact of COVID-19 and its subsequent border closure and the lockdown on the logistics, transportation services, and supply chain networks, most notably the closure of industrial complexes, commercial centers, and loss of jobs and businesses. As the pandemic disruption of the global supply chains reached its peak in the Middle East region, with approximately 22 percent decline in turnover of goods transport companies in 2020, we empirically assess the impact of this decline on the revenue, demand of services, operation, wages, and employments in the logistics companies in the Sultanate of Oman. Methodologically, we employ the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, McNemar's test, and Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks test to analyze the primary data collected from 61 survey questionnaire responses and 20 interviews of senior executives of these companies. Our results reveal unfavorable pandemic externalities on the surveyed companies' balance sheet, demand for services, operational capacity, wage payments, and employee layoffs. We also observed strong correlations between the timely goods delivery and customs clearance and material shortages, and between customs clearance and material shortages. Our findings have practical implications for company executives to lessen the effects of the pandemic on the reduction of company income, service demand, operational capacity, salary payments, and employee layoffs. Policymakers must develop appropriate policy measures to enhance port competitiveness and improve customs procedures and service delivery.

Port Competitiveness Criteria for Transshipment Container Market: A Turkish Port Industry Application

Port Competitiveness Criteria for Transshipment Container Market: A Turkish Port Industry Application

Port Competition through Hinterland Connectivity—A Case Study for Potential Hinterland Scope in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Regarding an Environmental Policy Measure

Comparable port efficiency among ports of the European northern range leads to a competitive shift toward hinterland connectivity. North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), having a high population and industry density and an extensive road, rail and waterway network, is prone to such inter port competition due to its proximity. Using a simulation model, the potential hinterland scope by each port and mode in NRW is depicted and a sensitivity analysis with increasing carbon tax rates is conducted. With an increasing tax rate, the scope for central areas of NRW, prone to a shift to rail transport, expands and become heavily contested among multiple ports. A major profiteer of an increase is projected to be the Port of Rotterdam due to its good connectivity at the cost of Antwerp. The market share of German ports is likely to stay the same with a mode shift occurring. Policy measures like a carbon tax not only have an effect on environmentally friendly mode shift but can severely impact the competitive situation of infrastructure components. While achieving the primary goal of transport sustainability, national interests might mandate the economical existence of a functioning maritime port, which leads to the consideration of additional measures when increasing carbon tax rates.

Study on the Interaction between Green Competitiveness of Coastal Ports and Hinterland Economy

Accelerating the construction of green ports and promoting the green transformation of the economy and society are important trends in port and regional development today. This research explores the interaction between the green competitiveness of coastal ports and the hinterland economy from 2007 to 2019 by taking the 10 largest coastal ports in China as the research object and combining the Super-SBM Model with the panel data model. The results show that the green competitiveness of coastal ports is fluctuating, and the green competitiveness of Qingdao and Shanghai ports is stronger in the production frontier surface. Compared with the size of ports, the level of port technology is an important factor to improve the green competitiveness of ports. In terms of interaction, the total economic volume of the hinterland, the proportion of the added value of the tertiary industry, and the waterway transportation between the port and the hinterland have a significant positive impact on the green competitiveness of the port, and the improvement of the green competitiveness of the port and the waterway transportation between the port and the hinterland effectively drive the economic development of the hinterland. This study provides an important basis for the rational use of the port–hinterland interaction and promotes the coordinated and healthy development of both.

Impacts of the carbon tax on green shipping supply chain under the port competition

AbstractThe shipping industry plays an important role in international trade and world economic development. In particular, the rapid growth of the shipping industry since 2020 has become an important factor in supporting and stimulating the rapid recovery of the global economy in the post epidemic era. However, under the background that climate warming has increasingly become the theme of common concern for all mankind, greenhouse gas emission reduction has increasingly attracted the attention of governments of all countries, and has also become the requirement for production and operation of all industries, the green, environmental protection and sustainable development of the shipping industry have also become the focus of participants in all sectors. As environmental problems put forward requirements of a green shipping industry, some policies aimed at reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon tax, have brought considerations to the strategies of ports and enterprises, especially concerning their competition and cooperation. This study established a shipping supply chain system composed of two ports and one shipping company in order to analyse the impact of carbon tax on the shipping supply chain, and to optimize the decision‐making of government, ports and shipping companies. Through three‐level Stackelberg game of four models including ports cooperating or not cooperating with each other, and carbon tax levied on ports or the shipping company, the study finds that the collection of carbon tax will reduce the container handling volume of ports thus reducing the profits of both ports and the shipping company, but the handling volume when the government puts carbon tax on ports is lower than that when it puts carbon tax on the shipping company, and the handling volume under the port cooperation mode is lower than that under the port non‐cooperation mode. As the collector of carbon tax, the government's income when taxing ports is higher than that when taxing shipping companies, and when ports cooperate, the government's income is lower than that when ports do not cooperate. Moreover, no matter the ports cooperate with each other or not, the impact of carbon tax on port container handling volume under the mode of carbon tax levied by the government on ports is more significant than that when carbon tax is levied on the shipping company, leaving the former mode a lower container handling volume and lower profit. The findings of this study have the following significance and suggestions for the participants of shipping supply industry: In order to maximize the government's target value, the government should give priority to taxing shipping companies rather than ports; Under the background of carbon tax, ports should choose limited non‐cooperation strategies.

Simulation research of port competitiveness based on system dynamics

It is an urgent problem for Chinese large and medium-sized ports to improve their competitiveness. With the method of system dynamics and the software Vensim-PLE, the simulation model of port competitiveness is constructed to explore the internal factors influencing mechanism and development trend of port competitiveness. By constructing causality diagram and system flow diagram, the paper analyzes the influence mechanism of related factors on port competitiveness. Taking Nanjing Port as the specific research object, it predicts the change trend of cargo throughput and other related variables and port competitiveness. Then it designs four simulation schemes to improve the port competitiveness of Nanjing Port ,and compares the improvement effects of different schemes. Finally, it puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to improve port competitiveness.

Владивостокский торговый порт в первой половине 1920-х годов: экспортная конкуренция и межведомственные противоречия

The article is devoted to the problem of the development of the Vladivostok commercial port in the early 1920s. The first quarter of the XX century was a time of severe trials for the whole of Russia in general and the Far East in particular: World War I; Civil War; foreign intervention. All this time, the Vladivostok Harbor was in fact the only source of external contacts of the remote region. Being the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean, Vladivostok has historically been a kind of center of attraction, both in socio-economic and military-political aspects. However, the destroyed logistics chains and the colossal damage that the era of political instability brought with it deprived him of the primacy in the struggle for the markets of the Pacific Rim. This publication is based on archival documents, many of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The author sets himself the task of demonstrating the key activities of the central and local authorities aimed at restoring the competitiveness of the Vladivostok commercial port in the «Manchurian transit» — its distinctive «Visiting card» since the beginning of the century. The author concludes that despite the cardinal change in the vector of the country's political and economic development after 1917, the port of Vladivostok managed to retain the status of the Russian «Window to Asia». The key means of implementing these plans was the establishment of the so-called «Transit harbor» in the port, which became the logical result of generalization and application of the colossal pre-revolutionary experience in the functioning of «free economic zones».

МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ КОНТЕКСТ КОМПЛЕКСНОЙ ОЦЕНКИ ЭФФЕКТИВНОГО ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ МОРСКОГО ПОРТА

The article substantiates the need to conduct a study on the issues of ensuring the effective functioning of the seaport in order to form an integrated approach in the field that should become the basis for the formation of an algorithm for making informed management decisions in concerning the efficiency and international competitiveness of ports. It analyzes the authors’ approaches to the definition of the port characteristics which determine its competitiveness and efficiency. The dynamics of the linkage index of liner transportation is considered. A comparative diagram of financial, operational indicators, human resources indicators for the Mariupol Seaport is given. It is emphasized that a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the seaport is necessary based on the definition of an integral indicator, which will become the basis for making informed management decisions aimed at creating conditions for ensuring the effective functioning of the seaport and maintaining positions not only in the domestic but also in the international market. There is a scheme for monitoring the state of effective functioning of the seaport based on the determination of the integral indicator. Thus, the adoption of an appropriate policy for the development of seaports will significantly improve the efficiency of the ports functioning and compare their achievement in the international market of port services.

Development of GPCN Model to Assess Domestic and International Competition Patterns of Coastal Container Ports in China

The importance of a port’s strategic position has long been recognized, during which process inter-port competition is becoming increasingly fierce. This paper aims to assess the domestic and international competition patterns of 43 coastal container ports in China. A global port competition network model (GPCN) is developed based on the global liner shipping network (GLSN) model and the multiple linkage analysis (MLA) method. In the GPCN model, three competition indicators (competition degree, competition intensity, and competitive pressure) are proposed to quantitatively describe the competitive patterns of Chinese container ports. This study has found that ports tend to compete with other ports that have similar competition degrees, and competition among large ports may be more intense. Additionally, a port’s traffic volume is correlated well with its competitiveness; the larger Chinese ports, such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo-Zhoushan, and Hong Kong, have put much more competitive pressure on their smaller competitors than they are subjected to, and Singapore and Busan ports are found as the main competitive threats to the development of Chinese coastal container ports. The methodology developed in this study can provide a good strategic decision-making and guidance tool to quantitatively assess the competition situations of other countries’ coastal container ports.

Security Risk Management System for the Construction and Operation of Smart Port Area Based on BP Neural Network Algorithm

With the construction of smart cities, smart ports are developing rapidly, providing favorable conditions for enhancing port competitiveness, promoting industrial upgrading, and economic transformation. With the continuous progress of society and science and technology, the safety risks of intelligent ports are also increasing. In order to better address these risks, it is necessary to establish a stable and efficient management system. This paper applies data mining and fuzzy control theory technologies for large-volume, high-precision real-time information collection, based on the research of the BP neural network algorithm. By establishing and analyzing a safety risk management system model based on the BP multilayer neuron network, it provides a rationality evaluation method and design concept. After designing the safety risk management system, this paper conducts a performance test on the system. The test results show that through optimization, the accuracy, generalization ability, and reliability of the model can be improved. Its accuracy is as high as 92% or more, fully demonstrating the system's reliability and superiority!

Shipping connectivity data analytics: Implications for maritime policy

Shipping connectivity is an important concern of maritime policies given their implications on trade access and economic growth and development. The research demonstrates application of data analytics to extract insights regarding shipping connectivity for contribution to maritime policies. Information drawn from shipping services operated by shipping lines contains number of vessels involved, names of each vessel, vessel type, vessel size, vessel operator, partner carriers, service frequency, port-of-rotation and whether the service is operated under an alliance. Application uses the case of major container ports in Southeast Asia. For port competition and competitiveness, results and implications suggest maritime policies will need to go beyond targeting specific shipping lines to account for considerations and requirements of the entire alliance given dominance of shipping alliances on key trade routes and decision for port-calls. For market contestability, our research demonstrates potential of employing data analytics in maritime policies regarding monitoring market concentration for shipping connectivity and analysing associated market behaviour of shipping lines. For development of shipping routes, data analytics can be used in maritime policy formulation to identify important areas where shipping connectivity can be strengthened, including identification of specific trade routes and potential shipping lines and alliances to target.

Impact of number of shipping lines on ports' charges and profits: A game‐theoretic model

AbstractThis study examines the effect of changes in the number of shipping lines on port charges and profits. A two‐stage noncooperative game‐theoretic model with two ports and multiple identical shipping lines is developed. In the first stage, the ports decide their container handling charges, and in the second stage, the shipping lines decide on the number of calls to make at each port, given the port charges. The model is then applied to the case of competition between two ports in New Zealand, the Port of Tauranga and the Port of Auckland, to derive managerial insights. Our study extends the literature on port competition by incorporating competition between shipping lines. We also demonstrate that a decrease in the number of shipping lines may force ports to increase their handling charges. Furthermore, we show that each shipping line ships more cargo than the industry optimal via the port with lower costs.