Hinterland Access Research Articles

Coordination mechanisms in improving hinterland accessibility: empirical analysis in the port of Rotterdam

Hinterland accessibility is one of the main determinants in port competition. Improving hinterland accessibility is a complex process in which many actors are involved and many factors play a role. It requires coordination mechanisms beyond the price mechanism; conditions of complexity can become such that assistance is needed from other coordination mechanisms, such as introduction of incentives, creation of an interfirm alliance, changing scope, and creating collective action. The goal of this paper is to gain a better understanding on coordination in hinterland chains. Based on the insights of Transaction Cost Economics, a set of variables is explicated in order to understand when, by whom, and under which conditions and situations coordination arrangements are chosen. The variables can be divided into variables related to the complexity of the coordination problem and variables related to the coordination arrangement. The variables are used in an empirical analysis of coordination arrangements in hinterland transport from and to the port of Rotterdam. This analysis provides insight into the patterns and conditions of the emergence of different coordination arrangements that improve hinterland accessibility.

The role of inland terminal development in the hinterland access strategies of Spanish ports

The aim of this paper is to understand how inland terminals are developed in relation both to ports and to other inland terminals within a national system. The paper builds on previous work developing inland terminal taxonomies and applies them to the Spanish case, with supplementary focus on the relations between the “dry port” and “extended gate” concepts. Theoretical contributions include both the importance of development direction (land-driven vs sea-driven) and the identification of an emerging spatial disparity in port development strategies between coastal and inland nodes. In Spain, ports retain an interest in inland terminals through minority shareholdings but they are not the primary investors. The principal ports using Spanish inland terminals are Barcelona and Valencia, both of which are also developing logistics zones within their ports. Furthermore, while the ports are developing closer IT links with these inland locations, this does not necessarily indicate greater than normal levels of cooperation. A study of the Spanish system thus raises questions about whether the increasing academic focus on “dry ports” actually signals any change in strategies of port development or intermodal terminal operation. Therefore the final aim of this paper is to question the use of the “dry port” terminology.

Measuring the quality of port hinterland accessibility: The Ligurian case

Traditionally, distance was considered the parameter that could better reflect the economic influence of a seaport on land. Containerisation and intermodality progressively eroded such a paradigm and currently distance became only one of the factors across the overall “equation”. In this respect, a fundamental role is played by the effectiveness of inland connections. The better the connection of a port to the various inland markets, the bigger the potential to enlarge its overall captive area. Furthermore, the higher the “frictions” (bottlenecks, delays, etc.) for reaching the hinterland, the lower the inland traffic flows. The major purpose of the paper is to measure container traffic diversion from Ligurian ports (Genoa, La Spezia and Savona) to the main Italian and European competitors. The application of a gravity model will reveal the current role of distance in drawing hinterland market share among the selected ports. Moreover, for evaluating the unexploited potentialities of Ligurian ports, we compared real traffic flows with the outcomes of a spatial interaction model, reassigning inland container flows to the different sampled ports. The calculation of the traffic delta through a gap analysis, allowed measuring the “frictions” thwarting the connectivity between the Ligurian ports and the sampled hinterland regions. Finally, the paper discusses the nature and the reasons for the above traffic diversion.

Network analysis of container barge transport in the port of Antwerp by means of simulation

Inland navigation plays an important role in the hinterland access of the port of Antwerp. In this paper alternative bundling strategies for container barge transport in the port of Antwerp are analyzed. Four alternative hub scenarios are simulated and compared with the current situation with respect to the operational characteristics of the network. Discrete event simulation is used to analyze the impact on waiting times and capacity utilization at potential hubs and at sea terminals. The hub scenarios under investigation are the organization of an intermodal barge hub on the right river bank, an intermodal hub on the left river bank, a first multihub scenario with a local collection/distribution network and a potentially improved multihub scenario taking into account the specific structure of the port of Antwerp. The second multihub scenario offers most opportunities for reducing the turnaround time of all inland terminals. All hub scenarios lead to important efficiency improvements in the handling of barges at sea terminals.

Hinterland Access Regimes in Seaports

Seaports serve hinterlands. Various inland modes such as road, rail, inland waterways and pipeline are used to access the hinterland. The quality of the access to and from the hinterland differs between seaports and affects their competitiveness. The quality of the hinterland access depends among others on the behaviour of a large variety of actors, such as shipping lines, terminal operators, forwarders, the port authority and the national/regional government. Therefore, effective hinterland access is at least partially an organisational challenge. Together these actors create a ‘hinterland access regime’. The analysis of this regime is central in this paper. First, the relevance of hinterland access for seaports is briefly discussed. Second, the term ‘hinterland access regime’ is defined and the theoretical framework presented in De Langen (2004) is used to analyse the quality of the hinterland access regime. Third, survey results on the quality of the hinterland access regime in three seaport clusters, Rotterdam, Durban and the Lower Mississippi Port Cluster (LMPC) are discussed. This analysis shows major differences between hinterland access regimes. Fourth, opportunities to improve the hinterland access regime in these three ports are discussed.

Planned road network developments in the Baltic Sea region

The political, social and economic upheavals in Eastern Europe and, to some extent, the recent accession of certain Scandinavian countries to full European Union (EU) membership have resulted in continuing dynamic changes in the features of trade and transport supply within the Baltic Sea region. In certain states in the region, transport infrastructure has proved inadequate for the emerging situation, having been developed under conditions of intensely centralized policy constraints. The most effective institutional catalyst for infrastructure development in the region is now the EU. A major priority within its policy for transport is the transfer of goods from road to more environmentally sustainable modes, especially short‐sea shipping. Paradoxically, the EU's proposed development of a Trans‐European motorway system simultaneously creates both opportunities and problems for the short‐sea ship operator; while hinterland access to ports is improved, parallel coastal road connections are enhanced. Improvements to the motorway networks have been planned for a couple of decades, but have not been acted upon due to a lack of capital for investment. In many cases, even the adequate maintenance of existing infrastructure was beyond the means of certain states. With the opening up and increased market orientation of Central and East European economies, plans for major transport infrastructure developments have moved much closer to implementation. The emergence of novel and diverse sources of capital has also led to proposals for new projects. Although these projects, by their very nature, will take a number of years to be realized, the characteristics of road supply in the region, will be very different a decade from now. As a preliminary element of a wider study into the competitive position of short‐sea snipping in the Baltic Sea, the purpose of this paper is: firstly, to analyse the current level of major road supply in Poland, the Russian Federation and the Baltic States; secondly, to outline the major planned developments in the region and to evaluate the progress made towards their realization; and thirdly, to illustrate the diverse range of organizations, institutions and financial interest groups concerned with infrastructure developments in the area.

Changing technology, economic growth and port development: the transformation of Tianjin

Ports, traditionally, did not lend themselves to efficiencies and this state of affairs persisted until well into this century when a series of technological developments in shipping, the whole climaxed with unitization, radically transformed the manner in which port operations were conducted. Tianjin succumbed to this transformation in full, but only after forcibly overcoming severe site limitations. Reminiscent of the ‘Anyport’ model, Tianjin's port bodily moved downstream. Nailing its colours to the mast of containerization, it continues to prosper today—like yesterday—as a gateway port. However, as stressed in this paper, its future turns on the twin questions of draught restrictions and hinterland accessibility: the two everlasting regulators of port viability.