Fifty years of organisational change in container shipping: regional shift and the role of family firms

Spectacular growth has marked the industry initiated by Malcolm McLean with the sailing of the Ideal-X in 1956. While the growth of container shipping has been typically seen in terms of technological advances, increasing vessel capacity, traffic growth, financial performance and competitiveness, it has been shaped also by organisational transformations. This paper provides an overview of the major companies that make up the container shipping industry, tracing the rapid adoption of containerisation by American carriers to its diffusion to Europe and then Asia. While several carriers belong to business conglomerates, the most dynamic in recent years have been those that are those that possess a family structure. About 12 of the present top 20 carriers are largely family controlled, including 4 out of the top 5. Unlike other capital intensive industries, where the power has shifted towards corporate governance, the container shipping industry retains a strong individualistic entrepreneurial character. At a time when North American ownership in container shipping is no more, the spirit of innovation began 50 years ago by an American visionary is still evident in the entrepreneurial dynamism of many of the industry leaders.     

Peripherality in the global container shipping network: the case of the Southern African container port system

Regional trade co-operation, economic growth and greater political stability have enabled increased container throughput and container port capacity development. Earlier academic work has indicated that the functional position of this port region in the global maritime network might be shifting from a remote region in the periphery of the network to a more intermediate position. This paper aims to analyze the changing level of peripherality and remoteness of the Southern African container port system as part of the global container shipping network. The central hypothesis is that Southern Africa has moved from a remote shipping region to a more central shipping region in the global network. The methodology consists of the calculation of network measures for Southern African ports. The changing geographical distribution of flows among the main container ports in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar will also be explored in terms of their respective shipping services, port calling patterns, market structure (in terms of the number of active carriers) and the up-scaling of vessel and port capacity. The overall result is a mapped port hierarchical structure with a clear indication of the shifted maritime centrality of Southern African ports from 1996 to the present decade.     

From St. John's to Miami: Containerisation at Eastern Seaboard Ports

The North American Eastern Seaboard is one of the major container handling regions of the world. However, since 1975 it has declined relative to the world development of containerisation. Whereas in 1975, 20.4% of the world's containers passed through Eastern Seaboard ports, in 1995 the figure was 7.2%. In the period 1975 to 1995, ports in Canada and the Mid Atlantic range have held their own relatively in the proportion of containers handled in the Eastern Seaboard. Ports in the North East, primarily New York, have lost ground; ports in the South have gained. Rank size analysis and the Gini coefficient show a deconcentration of container handling away from New York to middle ranked ports, especially Hampton Roads, Charleston, SC and Montreal. Global factors – universal adoption of containerisation, changing trade routes brought about by post-Panamax ships and intermodality, and cargo sharing among alliances – explain the relative decline of the Eastern Seaboard ports as a group. Individual port development is largely accounted for by how well ports respond to the global factors. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The impact of the Habitats Directive on European port operations and management

Thirteen years since the EU Habitats Directive (1992/43/EEC) became a binding legal agreement, this paper considers the implementation of this important European environmental legislation as it applies to the coastal activities of seaports and harbours. The paper examines the relationship between environmental legislation and ports policy, and seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of the policy and science that has been developed in relation to protected areas and port management. The paper reports the results of a survey of European port professionals, and their perception of the successes and challenges of the management regimes that have been established, as well as their opinions on how these have influenced the management within ports. The paper also provides a detailed examination of the scientific and technical developments with particular regard to dredging and habitat management in European ports. Key research gaps are identified, including: practical approaches to licensing procedures; lack of baseline information, especially with regard to in-combination effects; the efficacy of techniques for mitigating the impacts of dredging; and greater understanding on how more resilient models for collaborative action can be developed. The paper will be of use to environmental planners, scientists, regulators, conservationists, and port managers, as they consider how to apply science and management to the sustainable development and environmental protection of coastal areas.     

A tale of Asia’s world ports: The spatial evolution in global hub port cities

Globalization and transport revolutions, logistics integration, and the consequent expansion of port area and hinterland in the maritime industry have redefined the functional role of ports in supply chains and have generated a new pattern of freight distribution. This phenomenon again requires a new approach towards port development and related urban planning. Such changes have inevitably influenced the spatial structure of hub port cities. As existing models on spatial and functional evolution of ports and cities are mainly derived from European and American cases, this paper attempts to introduce evidence from an Asian perspective, focusing on the particular case of global hub port cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore.     

The economics of containership route deployment

Larger and faster containerships have cut back on the number of port calls, thereby enhancing demand for and cost of land-based feeder services to the ports. The case in Taiwan is no exception. However, this tendency becomes economical only when differences in operation efficiency and handling charges (among other things), between competing ports are observed. Other things being equal, the multi-port calls instead of single-port-call/inland-feeder services could still be economically feasible so far as the containerships' route deployment serving Taiwan is concerned. Hence, the proposed expansion of the container terminals at the Port of Keelung in N Taiwan could be justifiable.     

Container ports,local benefits and transportation worker earnings

Over the past 50 years, containerization has both enabled and reflected the articulation of increasingly concentrated and complex global trade flows. Once close infrastructural, economic and institutional ties between seaports and port cities have been loosened, since major ports now serve producers and consumers in widely dispersed hinterlands. This process has been especially intense in North America, where west coast ports serve markets across the continent. At the same time, many of the external costs of increased port activity are incurred in port cities. Hence, questions about the changing nature of employment in port and related goods-handling sectors have become increasingly important for understanding the share of economic benefits received by port cities. This paper focuses on the effects of containerization, and related changes in transportation regulation, on port-logistics worker earnings in major United States port cities since 1975. A difference-in-differences framework is used to examine the relative annual earnings of dock, trucking and warehouse workers in major container port cities. The analysis shows that, with notable exceptions, port-logistics worker earnings in major container ports are not necessarily higher than those of comparable workers. The findings provide further insights into the strained relationship between seaports and port cities in the era of containerization and economic globalization.

Containerisation in the Mediterranean: between global ocean routeways and feeder services

The basin of the Mediterranean Sea has become an important focus of container traffic. Two functions are represented by this activity: one, the transhipment of containers involved in global networks; and, second, the intra-regional distribution of containers. This trade is revitalising port activity in many parts of the basin. Most striking has been the emergence of new hub ports, many of which now eclipse old-established port cities. The revitalisation offers prospects for a third function: the possibility of becoming the southern gateway of Europe. This paper examines the patterns, problems and prospects of the ‘new’ Mediterranean in the era of containerisation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Some consequences and impacts of port development — the Hong Kong case)

Over the past century, Hong Kong port has experienced a fascinating development process as it has become one of the world's number one container ports. This paper explores some of the major external impacts and consequences of Hong Kong's past and current port development experience, with particular reference to environmental planning and control. After a brief introduction to Hong Kong's port, the paper focuses on the planning and management lessons related to the port's development. The paper then concludes with its impact on and reference for mainland China's port and port-city development.     

Current trends in Great Lakes shipping

Shipping on the Great Lakes has changed rapidly in recent years. Internal Great Lakes traffic consists almost entirely of bulk movements, primarily of iron ore, coal, limestone, and grain. Ore shipments are mainly of taconite concentrate. Low-sulfur coal from the western areas of the United States is now moving downbound through the lakes, a movement in the opposite direction from the predominantly upbound movement of Appalachian coal. Opening of a larger lock in 1970 between lakes Superior and Huron has initiated a new generation of lake vessels, which are three times the size of the previous lake ships, and are too large to transit the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence Seaway; for the first time since 1959 the largest “lakers” are land-locked. General cargo traffic between the Great Lakes and overseas has been declining rapidly since 1970, largely as the result of the rapid development of container ships, and the Interstate highway system, which increases the competitive advantages of salt-water ports.     

Divergent growth trajectories in China’s chemical industry: the case of the newly developed industrial parks in Shanghai,Nanjing and Ningbo

In the late 1990’s, the “new-economy” industries in China proved to be relatively vulnerable and were strongly hit by the financial crisis in Asia. As a result, a new economic support policy was introduced in China’s Yangtze Delta region, which put greater emphasis on the support of traditional industrial sectors, including the chemical industry. This paper investigates the effects of the growth of this industry, as well as the potential and current problems emerging from new growth paths. It compares the growth of three newly developed chemical industry parks in Shanghai, Nanjing and Ningbo. The paper is based on an institutional perspective of clustering processes arguing that regional industrialization is subject to formal and informal institutions which shape the growth paths and contribute to divergent regional trajectories. Although these industrial parks all benefit from the general economic upswing in China, their development is influenced by different business models, economic contexts, goals and strategies, leaving room for divergence and specialization. Due to the existing structure of operations, these parks have a great deal of potential but also face substantial challenges, such as the establishment of internal networks and close customer linkages. It is argued that this might limit their innovative capability in the future. Furthermore, their growth prospects differ depending on future government policies.     

The Asia-Pacific Rim's transport and telecommunications systems: spatial structure and corporate control since the mid-1980s

There is a need to move from discussing the Asia-Pacific Rim's leading port cities as shipping centres measured by container throughput. This shift in focus involves examining how different transport and telecommunications systems are interacting with each other at an international scale under the power and control of major world operators. Using a three-level network framework an attempt is made to illustrate and explain the formation of multilayered trade/communications corridors and hubs/headquarters in the Asia-Pacific Rim since the mid-1980s and to identify the factors affecting them. From this examination of spatial structure and corporate control three levels of cities in the Asia-Pacific Rim are recognised: first level cities with strong corporate representation in container shipping, air cargo, air passenger and telecommunications; second level cities with marked corporate representation in one but not all four modes; and third level cities with no marked corporate representation in any mode but with strong throughput. The third level includes the Asia-Pacific Rim's ‘true’ port cities. Perhaps the ambiguous category ‘port city’ should be reserved for them. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Empty marine container logistics: facts,issues and management strategies

With the global container population exceeding 25 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) and the annual production of new boxes exceeding 3 million TEU it is estimated that around 1.5 million TEU of empty containers are sitting in yards and depots around the world waiting for use. Although utilization rates have improved since 2004, container utilization depends on the very dynamic nature of container transportation, and the container building and leasing industries. Owing primarily to the chronic trend of increasing trade imbalances across the oceans, and despite recent trends along some trade routes, the empty container management problem has become a major issue for the container shipping industry during the last decade. This paper examines and analyzes empty container logistics at a global, interregional, regional and local level. Special consideration is given to key factors affecting the empty container logistics management and strategies implemented by ocean carriers and other stakeholders to better manage empty containers.

Estimating traveler populations at airport and cruise terminals for population distribution and dynamics

In recent years, uses of high-resolution population distribution databases are increasing steadily for environmental, socioeconomic, public health, and disaster-related research and operations. With the development of daytime population distribution, temporal resolution of such databases has been improved. However, the lack of incorporation of transitional population, namely business and leisure travelers, leaves a significant population unaccounted for within the critical infrastructure networks, such as at transportation hubs. This paper presents two general methodologies for estimating passenger populations in airport and cruise port terminals at a high temporal resolution which can be incorporated into existing population distribution models. The methodologies are geographically scalable and are based on, and demonstrate how, two different transportation hubs with disparate temporal population dynamics can be modeled utilizing publicly available databases including novel data sources of flight activity from the Internet which are updated in near-real time. The airport population estimation model shows great potential for rapid implementation for a large collection of airports on a national scale, and the results suggest reasonable accuracy in the estimated passenger traffic. By incorporating population dynamics at high temporal resolutions into population distribution models, we hope to improve the estimates of populations exposed to or at risk to disasters, thereby improving emergency planning and response, and leading to more informed policy decisions.     

New ports as nodes for industrial and urban development: The cases of Richards Bay and Saldanha in South Africa

Richards Bay and Saldanha were officially opened in 1976 as new deep water ports, primarily for the export of coal and iron ore respectively. The heavy investment in both infrastructure and industrial development by the South African government led to considerable urban and industrial growth in Richards Bay, whereas the port of Saldanha was initiated by one big concern and failed to produce a far reaching multiplier effect. The development of ports as growth centres has to be considered in terms of the location relative to the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging complex, which dominates the economy of the subcontinent, and within the context of the official decentralisation-growth point policy.     

The importance and quality of governance in the Chilean wine industry

The central theme of this paper is the issue of the governance of cooperation within the Chilean wine industry. The effects of the internationalization of this industry for the importance and the quality of governance of intra-cluster cooperation involving firms and other actors are analysed. Two questions stand central. First, what has been the relative importance of external and internal factors in improving the export performance of the Chilean wine industry over the past 20 years? Second, to what extent have collective actions and investments played a part in this growth, and what has been the quality of the various governance regimes dealing with the associated collective action problems? Empirical evidence suggests that world-market developments and upgrading efforts by individual wineries largely explain the good export performance of the Chilean wine industry until the year 2000. The evidence also shows that the industry’s success in world markets is stimulating cooperation between firms and other actors in areas where the industry needs to improve: marketing and promotion, internationalization, innovation and training. The enhanced cooperation has not only stimulated cluster development, but has also turned the quality of cluster governance into a central variable for future export growth. Nevertheless, several collective action problems await resolution before essential intra-cluster cooperation can develop. Overall, the evidence suggests that, in the case of the Chilean wine industry, industrial and cluster development do not automatically follow enhanced integration in world markets, but depend on the strategic skills of actors within the industry, in particular their ability to identify, prioritize, and realize collective investments while effectively managing the associated collective action problems. Internationalization stimulates firms to consider such investments, however, and provides them with an incentive to upgrade strategic skills at the local level as new opportunities arise and the pressure is there to exploit them in world markets.     

天然气:21世纪我国国民经济新的增长点

“天然气－21世纪的能源”已成为全人类的共识，新气田的不断发现，储量的不断增长和新的跨国输气管线的建成以及贸易范围的扩大加速了天然气工业的全球化和全球天然气化的进程，以煤为主的中国能源工业面对这难得的国际经济环境和国外已经充分开发利用的天然气技术系统以及国内日益高涨的需求呼声，审时夺势，顺应潮流，适时调整了能源战略，加大了天然气勘探力度，不断摸清了资源家底，使储量和产能大幅度增长，并陆续启动了基础设施建设项目，我国天然气孕育着大开发，大发展的喜人前景，可以预料，天然气工业将成为21世纪我国国民经济新的增长点。     

Corrosion mechanisms relevant to high-level waste repositories

Corrosion is the destructive reaction of metals with their environment. The environment associated with a waste container is an extremely complex one, creating many possibilities for corrosion of the waste container. The different basic types of corrosion are governed by different equations and reactions. Schematic drawings and photographs illustrate the mechanisms of corrosion and factors which influence the forms of corrosion are outlined. There are techniques for testing the susceptibility to certain types of corrosion, and some standard test procedures have been developed. Predictive models have been proposed for crevice corrosion, stress corrosion cracking and scale formation. Existing models and extrapolations are all subject to limits on their applicability.     

Evaluating transport externalities of urban growth: a critical review of scenario-based planning methods

Urban growth is an important phenomenon, which is taking place on an unprecedented scale, and its impacts on society and the environment are evident. In theory, an evaluation of such urban growth through scenario-based planning helps planners to better assess the future impacts of growth and develop better policies and plans. Within this context, the assessment of transport impacts is particularly important as transport plays an important role in shaping urban growth. Additionally, transport sector alone is responsible for about one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions of cities, which has detrimental effects on the environment, economy, community health, and quality of life. In practice, however, scarce evidence exists outlining the challenges of scenario-based evaluation and how to best address these while modelling the transport impacts of various urban growth scenarios. This research addresses these gaps in the literature and assesses the effectiveness of scenario-based planning methods that are used for modelling the transport impacts of alternative urban growth scenarios. The methodological approach of the study consists of a critical review of the key literature and relevant methods that are commonly used to assess transport impacts. The results of this analysis highlight limitations of existing methods for effectively evaluating transport externalities of urban growth scenarios. The findings suggest that among many reviewed models, the ILUTE, URBANSIM and TRANUS simulation models are identified as significant ones. However, due to various limitations of the former two, TRANUS is noted as the most suitable one for evaluating the transport impacts of urban growth scenarios.     

Reservoir description using dynamic parameterisation selection with a combined stochastic and gradient search

There is a correspondence between flow in a reservoir and large scale permeability trends. This correspondence can be derived by constraining reservoir models using observed production data. One of the challenges in deriving the permeability distribution of a field using production data involves determination of the scale of resolution of the permeability. The Adaptive Multiscale Estimation (AME) seeks to overcome the problems related to choosing the resolution of the permeability field by a dynamic parameterisation selection. The standard AME uses a gradient algorithm in solving several optimisation problems with increasing permeability resolution. This paper presents a hybrid algorithm which combines a gradient search and a stochastic algorithm to improve the robustness of the dynamic parameterisation selection. At low dimension, we use the stochastic algorithm to generate several optimised models. We use information from all these produced models to find new optimal refinements, and start out new optimisations with several unequally suggested parameterisations. At higher dimensions we change to a gradient-type optimiser, where the initial solution is chosen from the ensemble of models suggested by the stochastic algorithm. The selection is based on a predefined criterion. We demonstrate the robustness of the hybrid algorithm on sample synthetic cases, which most of them were considered insolvable using the standard AME algorithm.