Container Ports Post-Privatisation – Analysis of the Roles of the Public and Private Sectors at Port Botany, Sydney

The evidence base evaluating post-privatised commercial ports is virtually non-existent, especially with respect to sustainability and environmental performance. Despite acknowledged methodological limitations, a case study approach is adopted using Port Botany, Australia, as an example of a “privatised” port. In the post-privatisation period from 2013, we examine the respective roles of the public and private sectors in terms of legislation, policies and practice. How has NSW Ports responded to challenges of sustainability and environmental regulation within the port’s jurisdiction? to what extent have governments continued to be involved in planning and investment in the logistics chain to support the import and export of containers? and what are the relative costs to the private sector and the government to achieve more efficiency? The methodology involves material retrieved from websites, government and company reports, and discussions with key informants to verify the factual robustness of our findings. The findings show that the pre-privatisation environmental and regulatory framework has been effective, and that NSW Ports have been part of an Australian-wide ports initiative to implement best practice on climate change, and on economic, social and environmental sustainability countering claims in the literature that privatised ports put shareholder’s profits before the “greening” of ports. Despite Port Botany being privatised, Governments continue to enhance the efficiency of the logistical supply chain through policies and investment in transport access to the port via inland intermodal terminals

Managing optimum workload through terminal appointment system (TAS) : Case of Jakarta International Container Terminal

The Dissertation is a study of optimizing terminal through Terminal Appointment System (TAS), comparing the impact of unscheduled truck arrival with regulated truck arrival to the optimization process. A brief look is taken at present growth in container business. The rapid growth of world container trade, especially in Asia brings economic potentials for the countries and also challenges for container terminals. Capacity limitation in accommodating the trade growth forces the terminal to optimize their existing equipment and facilities. The evaluation of the existing performance of each component of the terminal operation, covering quay, yard and gate operation, is a starting point to identify the crucial problem in the optimization process. Many terminals implement Terminal Appointment System (TAS) to optimize their operation. This dissertation discuss the benefit and the impact of TAS implementation to the container terminal operation. The concluding chapter examines the impact of TAS solution in optimizing terminal operation. Some recommendations are made concerning the implementation of TAS

A Development Framework to Determine the Applicability of a Dry Port to Fremantle Port Supply Chains: a Case Study

Fremantle Ports’ landside container transport has environmental and social impacts and, through congestion, reduces the efficiency of its hinterland links. Incorporating dry ports into supply chains can reduce these impacts and increase seaport capacity and effective life. Using dry port characteristics, common criteria and development theory with a Fremantle Ports case study and user survey, a dry port development framework is established and validated. The framework demonstrates a dry port's role in Fremantle Ports operations

Using Optimisation and Machine Learning to Validate the Value of Infrastructure Investments

When stakeholders commit to building infrastructure as part of strategic, long-term planning, the final facilities are not normally amenable to modification after completion. A consequence of this is that users are forced to operate within the original specifications for, at least, as long as it takes to carry out major refurbishments or retrofitting, and even then, the constraints imposed by the original layout may be inescapable. On one hand, the original infrastructure plans enhance (or limit) the users' ability to operate efficiently for years to come. As time passes and the payback period approaches, changing operating conditions and unforeseen bottlenecks in the original blueprint can, at best, affect the economic returns and, at worst, defeat the purpose of the whole project (see, for example, Castellon airport in Spain, which was built but is grossly underutilised), producing unanticipated economical, social and political repercussions. On the other hand, managers and operators (that is, those living with the consequences of the strategic planning) have some leeway to compensate for miscalculations by means of their tactical and operational planning. In this chapter, we explore the use of quantitative techniques to, first, amend bottlenecks and uncertain market and operating conditions that affect the performance of infrastructure investments (the tactic and operational levels), and second, validate the effectiveness of the original infrastructure design (the strategic level) under these changing conditions. More specifically, we present a rail scheduling case study where we combine demand forecasting using Machine Learning techniques and formal Operations Research methods to assess and maximise the value of already-existing infrastructure. Rail scheduling is a typical optimisation problem popular in the literature, but its potential value is bounded not only by its technical properties and specifications (how good the algorithm is) but also by the accuracy of data feeding the algorithm. Such data is critical in specifying the demand that a facility will experience in the future, and the costs that will be incurred to operate it. The use of intensive data analytics and appropriate Machine Learning techniques can resolve this and provide a substantial competitive edge for investors and operators of rail inter-modal terminals. We anticipate that Machine Learning algorithms that predict future demand, coupled with optimisation techniques that streamline operations of facilities, can be integrated to create tools that help policy makers and terminal operators maximise the value of their current infrastructure, while meeting ever-changing demand

Freight Efficiency Strategies: Information Technology

This White Paper presents recommendations for using information technology solutions to increase the efficiency of California\u2019s multi modal freight system. These recommendations resulted from a consensus based process by working group committee members. The authors address two problems: information problems in the goods movement supply chain, and information problems in statewide trucking

The Siting Of Multi-User Inland Intermodal Container Terminals In Transport Networks

Almost without exception, cargo movements by sea have their origins and destinations in the hinterlands and efficient land transport systems are required to support the transport of these cargo to and from the port. Furthermore, not all goods produced are exported or all goods consumed are imported. Those produced and consumed domestically also require efficient transport to move them from their production areas to areas of consumption. The use of trucks for these transport tasks and their disproportionate contribution to urban congestion and harmful emissions has led governments, transport and port authorities and other policy-makers to seek for more efficient and sustainable means of transport. A promising solution to these problems lies in the implementation of intermodal container terminals (IMTs) that interface with both road and rail or possibly inland waterway networks to promote the use of intermodal transport. This raises two important linked questions; where should IMTs be located and what will be their likely usage by individual shippers, each having a choice of whether or not to use the intermodal option. The multi-shipper feature of the problem and the existence of competing alternative modes means the demand for IMTs are outcome of many individual mode choice decisions and the prevailing cargo production and distribution patterns in the study area. This thesis introduces a novel framework underpinned by the principle of entropy maximisation to link mode choice decisions and variable cargo production and distribution problems with facility location problems. The overall model allows both decisions on facility location and usage to be driven by shipper preferences, following from the random utility interpretation of the discrete choice model. Several important properties of the proposed model are presented as propositions including the demonstration of the link between entropy maximisation and welfare maximisation. Exact and heuristic algorithms have been also developed to solve the overall problem. The computational efficiency, solution quality and properties of the heuristic algorithm are presented along with extensive numerical examples. Finally, the implementation of the model, illustration of key model features and use in practice are demonstrated through a case study

DRY PORTS – RESEARCH OUTCOMES AND APPLICATIONS

Functional seaport’s hinterland transport system may benefit multiple stakeholders, i.e., seaports, transport operators, shippers, regions; however, expectations and benefits vary. Well-developed seaport’s hinterland transport system serves to increase seaport’s competitiveness; to improve accessibility of the hinterland regions; to enhance economic and environmental indicators of transport operators and shippers. As means of hinterland transport system development in past decade, a dry port concept has attracted attention among academics and practitioners. The concept represents an intermodal terminal located in the seaport’s hinterland, directly connected to the seaport by rail, where the shippers can pick up/leave their standardized units as if directly at the seaport. Considering multi stakeholder environment of dry ports operations, this thesis attempts to advance knowledge on dry ports’ benefits for the stakeholders and ability of the dry ports to generate the same, by both focusing on benefits for a bigger system (supply chain) and also by taking perspective of each individual stakeholder. Several types of dry ports varying in services provided are analyzed to study their ability to generate the benefits for stakeholders and hence to help them to meet their various objectives (Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis). By combining findings from a Systematic Literature Review and empirical evidences from the stakeholders involved in dry port operations in Sweden, the thesis aims to identify dry ports’ benefits for the stakeholders in a seaport’s hinterland transport system in order to increase understanding about the dry ports’ role in that system.The thesis is built upon three studies: Systematic Literature Review, interview based case study and personal interview survey study. The systematic literature review on dry ports-related research serves as a basis for the further studies and the thesis itself and summarizes all potential benefits of various dry ports. Interview based case study reveals the country-specific insights and a broad (supply chain) perspective on the studied issues. In turn, interview survey study takes into consideration multiple stakeholders’ objectives and studies dry ports ability to contribute to achieving those (or generate respective benefits). The results revert in identification of potential benefits of dry port derived from the academic literature (classified into economic, environmental and performance-related) as well as benefits identified empirically for the stakeholders relevant to the Swedish context (in addition to the literature finding: benefits classified under responsiveness, resilience, security andinnovativeness). Results also show that the identified stakeholders experience gradual improvement of their objectives (hence gaining benefits generated by the dry ports) with advancement of the dry ports’ configuration. Experts’ evaluation validates the findings, although is more “restrained” than the stakeholders’ one.The thesis contributes to the field of intermodal transport with focus on dry ports in seaports’ hinterland transport system by summarizing already existing knowledge and by providing insights into country-specific context (Sweden). The results may also have managerial implications in form of information support for the stakeholders’ decision-making processes regarding seaport’s hinterland transport business as well as for related policy making processes

Resilience of logistic service providers facing a port strike: a case study

The purpose of this thesis is to study the impact of a port strike on companies that perform as logistic service providers in a supply chain (SC), here denominated 3PL (third-party logistic providers). These companies are highly dependent on ports to perform their activity, since they provide international services. Consequently, a disruption in a port can seriously impair their business. A stevedores’ strike is one of the possible disruptions that can affect ports. This study aims to analyze the negative effects caused by this disruption, and what strategies 3PLs may implement in order to keep their performance levels stable and have a quick recovery time. Within this objective, the first step will be to establish a theoretical context about the maritime port’s sector and 3PLs in a SC context, to then expand the concept of a resilient SC, and finally to develop a theoretical framework in order to better contextualize the case study. Subsequently, the impact of a port strike will be quantified by using a case study comprising three companies, covering the areas of land and sea distribution and port operations. Information from primary sources was assembled in two phases: first via e-mail and, in a second phase, through a personal interview. The information from secondary sources was obtained through television news, internet and conferences, enabling its cross-analysis. Finally, by analyzing the collected data, it will be possible to draw conclusions about the measures carried out by each company to minimize the negative effects of the strike, thus contributing to a more resilient SC. As a conclusion, a stevedores’ strike will create a snow-ball of negative effects in the SC, degrading all relevant KPIs (key performance indicators) of the 3PLs under study. No mitigation and contingency strategies available proved really effective to reduce the negative effects of a port strike disruption