There are numerous possible advantages to be gained from the accurate prediction of future movements in the Baltic Freight Index (BFI). Because of the difficulties inherent in long-range forecasting, however, the potential for such predictions to provide insight into the future state of the physical dry bulk market is perhaps limited. The greater accuracy of short-term forecasts, on the other h…
This paper aims to provide a hierarchical configuration of the container port industry. It attempts to do so by determining a port hierarchy and then, utilising this, deriving the nature of the spatial interactions between sample ports in East Asia. The former is determined by assessing the relative importance of a port within the given network, and the latter is mainly based on the significanc…
There have been various analyses of the efficiency of container port (or terminal) production using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based on cross-sectional data. When time is not considered, the efficiency results derived using this approach can be biased. In order to overcome this problem, this paper applies DEA windows analysis, utilising panel data, to a sample of the world’s major contai…
A central objective of port privatization and/or deregulation policies is stimulating greater efficiency by engendering a more competitive market and commercial approach to management. Korea provides a prime example of a nation that is implementing such policies. Also, its ports play a pivotal role in world shipping, particularly in the ever-burgeoning container market. The success of these pol…
This paper applies a ‘port function matrix’ to analyse the administrative and ownership structures of major container ports in Asia. The relative efficiency of these ports is then assessed using the cross-sectional and panel data versions of the ‘stochastic frontier model’. The estimated efficiency measures are broadly similar for the two versions of the model tested. From the results o…
Korea has achieved remarkable economic growth over the last three decades. This has largely been due to the adoption of export-oriented economic policies. This economic development has resulted in a rapid increase in export and import cargoes. Since the foreign trade of Korea is carried predominantly by sea transport (approximately 99.8% in terms of volume), ports play a crucial role in this pr…
This paper investigates the efficiency of container terminals within the context of global supply chain management. The efficiency and scale properties of 104 of Europe’s container terminals with annual throughput of over 10,000 TEUs1 in 2003, distributed across 29 European countries, are derived using data envelopment analysis. The main findings are that significant inefficiency pervades mos…
The efficiency of the container port industry has been variously studied utilising either Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) or Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). Given the strengths and weaknesses associated with these two approaches, the efficiency estimates and scale properties derived from these analyses are not always convincing. This paper applies both approaches to the same set of containe…
This paper presents a simple argument, based on logic and maritime economic theory alone, for rejecting the applicability of the expectations theory in bulk shipping freight markets. It is shown that the risk premium must be time varying and must, in a systematic fashion, depend upon freight market conditions and the duration of a period time charter. The signs of the risk premium attributable …
Applications of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to container port production have been largely restricted to standard DEA models using cross-sectional data. The efficiency results derived may be biased; for instance, as the result of random effects or a recent investment in future production. In overcoming this problem, panel data on container port production may be more suitable for medium- to…