Transshipment port selection in the strait of Gibraltar

JEL Classification System: L920; R420The purpose of this study is to understand which factors impact more in the transshipment container port selection process in Gibraltar range. Analytical Hierarchy Process is applied through a survey. A random sample of 27 respondents ranked criteria based on pairwise comparisons and evaluated transshipment container ports through a 5-point Likert scale. The results suggest that vessel turn-around time, the proximity to the main navigation routes and the handling and storage cost of containers are the criteria that most impact in the transshipment port selection process. Further analysis could also extend to the switching costs in the transshipment business through previous cases, framing a cost-benefit analysis. Another future direction for research is a study in transshipment port selection with a higher number of respondents, comparing different perspectives, from maritime carriers to terminal managers, amongst others stakeholders. The results suggest that Port of Algeciras is the one that most fulfills productive criteria; Port of Tanger is the most competitive regarding costs; Port of Valencia has been able to balance transshipment and gateway services. This study is one of the first attempts to demonstrate the theoretical concepts of transshipment in one of the busiest bottleneck areas. The value of this study relies that academics and professionals may have supporting evidence that costs and productivity are the most valuable transshipment port criteria. The current situation in the transshipment in Gibraltar range could also be valued by port managers to define and prioritize new investments.O objetivo deste estudo é perceber quais os fatores mais relevantes na tomada de decisão de um porto de contentores de transshipment na zona do Estreito de Gibraltar. O método Analytical Hierarchy Process é utilizado através da construção de um questionário. Os 27 inquiridos hierarquizaram um conjunto de critérios através de comparações aos pares e avaliaram os portos através de uma escala de Likert de 5 níveis. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que o tempo de transbordo, a proximidade com as principais rotas marítimas e o custo de transbordo e armazenagem de contentores são os critérios mais relevantes aquando a tomada de decisão. É recomendada uma maior investigação, abrangendo os custos de troca de um porto transshipment, através do estudo de casos anteriores, construindo uma análise custo-benefício. Outra possibilidade passa pelo estudo do processo de seleção de um porto transshipment com um maior número de inquiridos, comparando perspetivas de diferentes intervenientes. Os resultados sugerem que o porto de Algeciras é o que melhor preenche os critérios de produtividade; o porto de Tanger é o mais competitivo em termos de custos; o porto de Valência tem sido capaz de apresentar um equilíbrio como porto de transshipment e como porto gateway. Este estudo é um dos primeiros a aplicar os conceitos teóricos associados ao transshipment a uma das áreas geográficas mais relevantes para o negócio. Académicos e profissionais dispõem assim de evidência prática de que os custos e a produtividade são dos critérios mais relevantes no processo de decisão, ajudando-os a definir e priorizar novos investimentos

Development of Panama as a logistics hub and the impact on Latin America

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-86).The Panamanian government is executing an aggressive economic growth initiative to transform the country into a regional logistics hub, like Singapore or Dubai. Two elements of the initiative are expansion of the Panama Canal and development of the Panama Pacifico Project, a large logistics park. The government initiative is analyzed with respect to the logistics hubs in Singapore and Dubai by 1) identifying a structure of critical factors for developing a logistics cluster, 2) using this structure to analyze the feasibility of Panama becoming a major logistics hub, and 3) exploring the impact of a logistics_hub in Panama on the Latin American network of ports. We make recommendations so that Panama can speedily develop its logistics hub, and so that Latin American ports whose existence is threatened by this development can adapt.by Daniel Muñoz and Myriam Liliana Rivera.M.Eng.in Logistic

Genetic algorithm for the cargo shunting cooperation between two hub-and-spoke logistics networks

Purpose: The overstocked goods flow in the hub of hub-and-spoke logistics network should be disposed of in time, to reduce delay loss and improve the utilization rate of logistics network resources. The problem we need to solve is to let logistics network cooperate by sharing network resources to shunt goods from one hub-and-spoke network to another hub-and-spoke network. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes the hub shunting cooperation between two hub-and-spoke networks. Firstly, a hybrid integer programming model was established to describe the problem, and then a multi-layer genetic algorithm was designed to solve it and two hub-and-spoke networks are expressed by different gene segments encoded by genes. The network data of two third-party logistics companies in southern and northern China are used for example analysis at the last step. Findings: The hub-and-spoke networks of the two companies were constructed simultaneously. The transfer cost coefficient between two networks and the volume of cargo flow in the network have an impact on the computation of hubs that needed to be shunt and the corresponding cooperation hubs in the other network. Originality/value: Previous researches on hub-and-spoke logistics network focus on one logistics network, while we study the cooperation and interaction between two hub-and-spoke networks. It shows that two hub-and-spoke network can cooperate across the network to shunt the goods in the hub and improve the operation efficiency of the logistics network.Peer Reviewe

The status quo of Vietnam’s logistics, the opportunities and challenges to become the regional transshipment hubs

In this dissertation, the author would like to identify the role of logistics in Vietnamese economy and its importance to the overall development strategy of Vietnam. In addition, this dissertation also explores strong and weak points of logistics systems and suggests measurements to mitigate harmful impacts. The goal is to attract more investment and improve the competitiveness comparing with neighboring South East Asia countries. The cost-benefit of highway investment will also be analyzed to assess the effectiveness of the project. Two additional case studies are provided in the last chapter as examples of port development in other Asia countries

Competitiveness of Arabian gulf ports from shipping lines’ perspectives: Case of Sohar port in Oman

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to investigate the factors that encourage shipping lines to use port of Sohar, in Oman. Some selected factors were used to assess to what extent it affects the port choice from shipping lines companies’ perspective. These factors include infrastructure, hinterland, connectivity and port’s dues. Design/methodology/approach: for this study both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used. Self-administered questionnaire used for collecting quantitative data while interviews were used to collect qualitative data. Secondary data was collected by reviewing academic literature and recent relevant articles and reports. Findings: Port of Sohar has a better opportunity to be the gateway of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States and all Cargo could have dropped in the port and transferred to other GCC States by road, rail and other transportation modes. This opportunity is gained by the strategic location of Sohar Port outside of the Strait of Hormuz. It can be concluded that port competitiveness can be improved through strategic location, improved hinterland conditions, port facilities, services cost, volume of cargo, connectivity to other ports and dwell time factor. Research limitations: The research was limited mainly by conducting it only at the port of Sohar because surrounding ports are too far away and it should involve more ports to gain comparative results. Limited number of stakeholders as Port Authority, Oman International Container Terminal (OICT) and shipping lines companies and agents is another limitation. Practical implications: The port can improve its competitive advantages and focus on the investigated factors. The government can also continue in working in the three big infrastructural projects; the new express roads, Sohar Airport and rail network connections with other GCC networks. Originality/value: the study used specific factors that expected to contribute to the shipping lines companies’ selection of ports in the gulf region. This could help the port to identify their competitive advantage and how they can use these competencies to improve their competitiveness in relation to other ports in the region.Peer Reviewe

Requirements for the development of a competitive Logistics Hub based on Northeast Asia studies

The main purpose of this study is to explore the concept of a logistics hub, identify key factors and milestones for its development, and give some recommendations and implications to developing countries in South America. To attract capitals and cargo, and to improve business logistic activities, developing a scheme called logistics hub can be consider as a general aim of this study. The terms Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Special Economic Zone (SEZ), within other necessary variables for the implementation of a hub area will be discussed. Ideas of South Korea, Japan and China, competitors in Northeast Asia (NEA) to be Logistics hub are going to be described. Important mega logistics hub as Singapore or Hong Kong for Southeast Asia, Rotterdam or Lyon for Europe or Jabel Ali in Dubai are just some examples of the idea for successful mega hub area. This successful city ports have develop its position as gateways to its regions on the basis of its excellent infrastructure and quality of services. In the new “global” environment the world is still facing steps of regional integrationKorea, Japan and China have under its priority policies the development of a logistics hub visioning to be the central area of the region. The winner will achieve micro economic and macroeconomic prosperity with developments in port, IT, R&D within other activities. After reviewing cases in this region, five factors came up as key determinants for the success implementation of a hub project: 1. Logistics services support and infrastructure. 2. Business environment. 3. Economic determinants. 4. Political support and 5. Access to international markets. These are going to be analyzed together with its different variables. Different governments of developing countries including South America should evaluate the challenge and milestones of the projects in Northeast Asia. National and local governments should start thinking in being central areas of their blocs or of different countries among the future Free Trade Area or the Americas in the economic integration scheme. South America region has big amount of natural resources and it is still “virgin” in the development of different activities. From a logistic perspective, South America markets are ripe for innovation and integration to develop competitive supply chain activities. The result of this study can be used as research material for project developers and governments of developing and also developed regions. Key words: Logistics hub, Special Economic Zone, Free Trade Zone, Foreign Direct Investments, Regional Integration, Distribution Centers, Clusters, Competitiveness, Relaibility, Multimodalism, IT, Logistics Service Providers, Business Operations, Political Support, Fiscal policies.the countries that becomes hub in their specific region will achieve socio-economic benefits. In Northeast Asia1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 3 2.1 Logistics centers 3 2.2 Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) 6 2.3 Port activity 8 2.4 Air port activity 9 2.5 Multimode transport activity 11 3. NORTH EAST ASIA EXPERIENCE 15 3.1 The economic and logistic environment of the Northeast Asia 15 3.2 Logistics demand in North East Asia (NEA) 16 3.3 Logistics infrastructure systems in Northeast Asia and trends 17 3.3.1 Maritime transport 17 3.3.2 Air transportation 18 3.3.3 Rail and Road transportation 19 3.4 Korea, China and Japan situation. 20 3.4.1 Republic of Korea 20 3.4.2 Republic of China 26 3.4.3 Japan 30 4. RESEARCH DESIGN 34 4.1 Selection of the research topic 34 4.2 Scheme to develop trade: 35 a) The Logistics hub (LH) 35 b) The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Free Trade Zones(FTZ) 35 c) Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Logistics hub (LH) 36 4.3 Research instrument 36 4.4 Sample design 37 5. EMPIRICAL RESULT 39 5.1 Descriptive analysis of data. 39 5.2 Correlation analysis 41 5.3 Factor analysis 43 5.4 Regression analysis 45 5.4.1 Factors of Importance in the Building of an integrated Hub 45 5.4.2 Regression Model 46 5.4.3 One-Way analysis and t-test. 50 5.5 Interpretations of results. 55 6. RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS TO DEVELOPING REGIONS 57 6.1 Situation in Latin America 57 6.2 Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) 58 6.3 Policy Recommendations for Attracting Center 60 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCHES 63 BIBLIOGHAPHY 6

The synchronized multi-commodity multi-service Transshipment-Hub Location Problem with cyclic schedules

The synchronized multi-commodity multi-service Transshipment-Hub Location Problem is a hub location problem variant faced by a logistics service provider operating in the context of synchromodal logistics. The provider must decide where and when to locate transshipment facilities in order to manage many customers’ origin–destination shipments with release and due dates while minimizing a total cost given by location costs, transportation costs, and penalties related to unmet time constraints. The considered synchromodal network involves different transportation modes (e.g., truck, rail, river and sea navigation) to perform long-haul shipments and the freight synchronization at facilities for transshipment operations. To the best of our knowledge, this variant has never been studied before. Considering a time horizon in which both transportation services and demand follow a cyclic pattern, we propose a time–space network representation of the problem and an ad-hoc embedding of the time-dependent parameters into the network topology and the arcs’ weight. This allows to model the flow synchronization required by the problem through a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming formulation with a simplified structure, similar to well-known hub location problems and avoiding complicating constraints for managing the time dimension. Through an extensive experimental campaign conducted over a large set of realistic instances, we present a computational and an economic analysis. In particular, we want to assess the potential benefits of implementing synchromodal logistics operations into long-haul supply-chains managed by large service providers. Since flexibility is one of the main features of synchromodality, we evaluate the impact on decisions and costs of different levels of flexibility regarding terminals’ operations and customers’ requirements