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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implications of COVID-19 on container import flows via the US port distribution system. We employ statistics collected for more than 21 US ports and for more than 550,000 container shipments by Walmart and Nike to identify trends and potential shifts in the US port distribution system. Results unveil different changes in distribution channels during the pandemic era, between aggregated port level and industry level. These differences are specific to firms and could be explained by the origin of flows, carrier selection to transport cargos and US port/inland distribution systems. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the different role played by ports for industries (retailers, footwear and apparel) and shows that the ability to adapt supply chains to a major disruption remains subject to the initial choices on the location of production, on carrier choices and on port/inland distribution networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the Spanish port system has been investing in the development of infrastructures aimed at attracting the cruise market. For this reason, this paper analyses, using a methodology based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), the efficiency of the Spanish port system for the cruise market. Most of the port authorities want to attract and maintain this traffic in their ports, due to the economic impact it has on them. Based on the data provided by Puertos del Estado and the port authorities in their annual reports, such as the number of cruise passengers per port or port authority, the number of stopovers or ships that visit our ports each year, and the infrastructures that have been developed for this market, an efficiency analysis was carried out to draw conclusions at the level of the port system and each port authority in terms of operational efficiency. Focusing the research on Malaga, the current situation was analyzed, as well as the forecasts that resulted from the research for the future development of the port in terms of cruise ships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental concerns have become important in the shipbuilding industry. The concept of the Blue Economy was linked to a new model of economic development based on regeneration, where the production of waste is seen as the possibility of creating a new activity, product, and employment. Nowadays, when we talk about the Blue Economy, it is from a much more transversal perspective, deeply linked to the maritime economic sectors. The aim is to develop these coastal productive sectors from a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable point of view. Due to the great development that the Blue Economy has experienced in recent years, it is considered appropriate to carry out a study of this economic model in the port sector. For this reason, this article analyses the Spanish port system, determining the most important dimensions for measuring the degree of development of the Blue Economy and indicators for each of them. It is concluded that the main emerging sectors in the Blue Economy are biotechnology, research and education, sustainable infrastructures and gastronomy and tradition. The final result of this article is the development of a tool which, by introducing certain data, provides the degree of implementation or development of the Blue Economy both at a general level for the port and at a specific level for each dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the new development pattern of "dual circulation" in China, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the spatial pattern and evolution law of port systems. This study takes the port system in the Yangtze River Delta Region (YRDR) as an example, based on the panel data from 2000 to 2019, analyses the spatial pattern and evolution characteristics of port domestic trade throughput (PDTT) and port foreign trade throughput (PFTT) from the perspective of dual circulation. The key influencing factors in the evolutionary process are explained, and the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of the two types of port throughput are compared. The results show that (1) in spatial evolution, the PDTT and PFTT of the port system in the YRDR fluctuate and increase significantly, showing a typical three-level echelon structure in space. (2) From the perspective of spatial equilibrium, the two types of port throughput are markedly discrete; however, the degree of agglomeration of PFTT is greater than that of PDTT. (3) In spatial patterns, the centers of gravity of PDTT and PFTT are distributed in Suzhou and Jiaxing, respectively. Both are distributed from northwest to southeast. However, the rotation angle of PFTT was larger, and the north-south differentiation was more evident than that of PDTT. (4) In influencing factors, the throughput pattern of the port system in the YRDR is driven by multiple factors, and some differences exist in the driving mechanism between PDTT and PFTT. • The spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of port system was analysized from the new perspective of dual circulation. • A typical three-level echelon structure in space was found to the port system in the YRDR. • Differences in the influencing factors between PDTT and PFTT were reported. • Policy implications were provided to promote high-quality development of port system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's global shipping connectivity had been somewhat overlooked as the bulk of related studies predominantly focused on the throughput volume of its own port cities. This article tackles such lacunae by providing a relational perspective based on the extraction of vessel movement archives from the Lloyd's List corpus. Two complementary analyses are proposed: long-term dynamics with all ships included (1890-2008) and medium-term dynamics focusing on container flows (1978-2016). Each analysis examines China's maritime connectivity in various ways and on different spatial scales, from the global to the local, in terms of concentration, vulnerability, and expansion. The main results underline the influence of technological, economic, and political factors on the changing distribution of connectivity internally and externally. In particular, China has managed to reduce its dependence upon external transit hubs, to increase the internal connectivity of its own port system, and to strengthen its dominance towards an increasing number of foreign nodes and trade partners through the maritime network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shortage of research in Vietnam port evolvement is uncontroversial although a huge amount of investment is observed to upgrade both quantity and quality. This study examines the port system performance, in the context of spatially concentration ratio, in Southern Vietnam for the period 2007-2016, by using prevailing indicators for spatially concentration assessment including concentration ratios (CR), the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI), the Gini coefficient, the Lorenz curve and shift-share analysis (SSA), a trend of deconcentration is described in Southern Vietnam port system, since the traditional ports to new deep-water ports. Also, driving forces of this shifting would be discussed in detail. Implications from this study would enable not only port administrators, port operators but also shipping lines, cargo owners, logistics service providers to comprehensively understand the growth of the port system in Southern Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European ports are facing sustainability and energy challenges, requiring changes to port functions, supply chain systems and business models. A 20-year 'port vision' could support decision-makers in designing effective strategies and prioritising investments. This study aims to identify the current energy management trends and their impact on ports and analyse the resulting scenarios. A literature review on energy management trends and ports' value chains was used to develop a conceptual framework, from which a Delphi questionnaire was created. The questionnaire was administered in two rounds, during which experts assessed the probability, impacts and desirability of energy sources, renewable energy, cold ironing, equipment, alternative fuels, energy digitalisation, human resources, emergencies and security. The results are clustered to depict the following port's energy management scenarios: most critical (related to digitalisation, cybersecurity, installation of renewable energy in small ports and electrification of docks and vehicles), most uncertain (concerning inland and/or offshore expansion of renewable energy production, use of autonomous vehicles and energy self-sufficiency of large ports) and most desired (involving investments on cold-ironing, alternatively powered cranes and cost reduction for photovoltaics and wind power). The research implications include conceptual actions to be considered and introduced in a generic European port plan and provide strategy recommendations to foster future ports. • Ports are complex entities, and energy management foresight is needed. • Energy and port management experts contributed through a Delphi questionnaire. • The following future scenarios are derived: most critical, uncertain and desirable. • Research implications could provide European ports' strategy plans with future-oriented recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a study developed in a medium port system composed of 50 public and private actors interacting with their macro-environment, which can generate strategic synergistic relationships. In order to determine these synergistic links between their components, the strategic phrases contained in their missions are analysed and classified according to the multi-criteria that are part of the macro-environment of each port actor: political, economic, social, technological, environmental, risk and learning. Likewise, new characterizations and classifications are proposed for groups and sub-groups of port actors. From absolute frequencies, Contingency Tables and the Chi-square test, quantitative results are obtained, which show the potential cases of strategic synergistic relations in the port system and the behavior of each group and sub-group of actors, as well as dependence / independence between every pair of criteria. Finally, it is verified that it is possible to use quantitative methods to analyze the strategic synergistic relationships between the actors of the port system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly work on the transatlantic slave trade has tended to focus on the volume, conditions and the profits of this hideous commerce and its demographic, economic and social impact on the coastal areas of Atlantic Africa. Much has therefore been published about the history of specific ports and coastal regions, but still little is known about the contribution of the slave trade to the overall formation and shaping of the Atlantic Africa port system and its regional port sub-systems, the links between various ports, their commercial struggles, and the variable factors that conditioned changes in their role within the system. This study will partly address these issues by examining how the slave trade, in conjunction with other local, regional and international economic and political dynamics, contributed to the rise and fall of ports in Atlantic Africa and helped shape its port system. In doing so, the analysis is based on shipping information gathered from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, and on the specific literature on various slave ports in Atlantic Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The particular location of port infrastructure holds characteristics that determine the activity of the port, both with respect to traffic and with respect to implementing competitive strategies; and the efficiency and efficacy of infrastructure depend on the governance systems that regulate the ports. Likewise, the development of port activity echoes in the regional economy as well, hence governance becomes integral to maximizing the impact of ports on their region's economic development. However, the activity of a port transcends the domestic/regional frontiers, as long as the port intends to take part in a global supply chain. Achieving this aim poses a challenge on the authorities that govern port activity, and this challenge needs to be seized when it comes to adjusting the governance to external and internal goals. In the specific case of the analysed ports, the prevailing governance model is known as Landlord, which differs noticeably from port to port. These differences make it possible to distinguish the orientation of European ports from that of the analysed Latin American ports, showing a dissimilar adjustment of the conception of governance that followed objectives that were not simultaneous. The paper draws forth a questioning of the uniqueness of the denomination Landlord and its legitimacy given the new challenges. Furthermore, the paper opens the way to understanding the need to adapt governance to changes, given the examined experiences. The analysis covers the following cases: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Port system development is a key theme in port geography literature. Recent decades have brought a rise in container terminal development at estuarine, coastal and offshore port locations, in part driven by scale increases in vessel size. This paper examines how container ports located upstream on rivers use processes of adaptive capacity building in an attempt to remain competitive in port systems. We link the development path of upstream seaports to a range of economic, technological, social and political factors. When combined, these factors shape the willingness and capacity of an upstream seaport to adapt to changing conditions such as an increasing demand for nautical accessibility. The case study results on Antwerp and Hamburg show that the discussion on the future of these upstream seaports cannot be detached from broader public policy and stakeholder management concerns and the influences of retention mechanisms, power, politics and collective action by the port community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models and empirical studies of port system evolution dominantly focus on land-based dynamics. Hence, it is traditionally recognized that such dynamics condition the evolution of ports and their relations as well as wider regional integration processes. The Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), which is currently responsible for no less than one-third of all African port throughputs, offers a fertile ground to test the possibility for regional integration to occur through maritime linkages despite limited trade integration and land-based transport connectivity. Main results highlight the increase of trans-Maghreb maritime connectivity but this occurs mostly at the periphery of the system based on transit flows. Logistical integration versus trade integration is discussed in light of the recent evolution of Maghreb ports and of the region in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial models of port system evolution often depict linearly the emergence of hierarchy through successive concentration phases of originally scattered ports. The Chinese case provides a fertile ground for complementing existing works by a long-term perspective, given the early importance of river ports and seaports and the development irregularities caused by periods of closure and openness over time and across such a large land mass. In both qualitative and quantitative ways, this paper describes and analyses the changing spatial pattern of China's port system since the first unified empire (221 bc). Main results underline a certain stability of the port system with regard to the location of main sea-river gateways, notwithstanding important regional shifts from one period to the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need and purpose of the introduction of each unclassified port into the county port system has been the subject of an ongoing discussion between scientists and experts, as well as the very users of the seaports. The fundamental dilemma regarding the ports of county and local significance open to public traffic is the question whether or not to include separate anchorage, and particularly mooring points, into the legal and economic regime of ports open to public traffic of county and local significance. Therefore, the basic purpose of this paper is to highlight the steps necessary for the process of legalization, i.e. sorting out of those seaports and defining activities necessary for their commercial use. The object of research of this paper are the newly classified county seaports, and the focus of the research is based on defining the activities and factors regarding their commercial use and successful implementation into the county port system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Port system is a research focus of transport geography, and most studies believe carriers are important factors in the development and concentration of the port system. Since the 1990s, carriers have played an important role in organizing the global shipping network and reorganizing the port system. But there isn’t a perfect method to evaluate carriers’ influence and the roles of each port in the maritime shipping networks. In this paper, we use the monthly schedule table of international carriers to describe and model the spatial pattern of the global shipping network and identify its hub-and-spoke system. The result shows that a hierarchical structure exists in the global shipping network. The North Hemisphere, especially the East Asia and the Southeast Asia, is a dominant region of the worldwide shipping network. East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Europe, and East coast of the USA are the concentration regions of worldwide shipping lines. The ports of Hong Kong, Singapore, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Kaohsiung etc have advanced capacity for maritime shipping and high potentials for being hub ports in the global shipping network. Today, the worldwide shipping network is transforming from the multi-port calling system to 44 regional hub-and-spoke systems. Meanwhile, the sub-networks with hub ports of Antwerp, Singapore, and Hong Kong have become the most important ones and dominate the whole global shipping network. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The European container port system features a unique blend of different port types and sizes combined with a vast economic hinterland. This paper provides an update of the detailed container traffic analysis developed by by extending it to the period 1985–2008 and to 78 container ports. The paper also aims at identifying key trends and issues underlying recent developments in the European container port system. These trends include the formation of multi-port gateway regions, changes in the hinterland orientation of ports and port regionalization processes. While the local hinterland remains the backbone of ports’ traffic positions, a growing demand for routing flexibility fuels competition for distant hinterlands between multi-port gateway regions. The prevailing assumption that containerisation would lead to further port concentration is not a confirmed fact in Europe: the European port system and most of its multi-port gateway regions witness a gradual cargo deconcentration process. Still, the container handling market remains far more concentrated than other cargo handling segments in the European port system, as there are strong market-related factors supporting a relatively high cargo concentration level in the container sector. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems are used to provide timely alerts on ongoing earthquakes, which can facilitate important risk-mitigation actions before potentially damaging seismic waves reach target sites. A major shortcoming of existing EEW approaches is that the earthquake-related conditions for activating alerts are not generally defined according to a formal decision-support system (DSS) that accounts for possible risk-based consequences of triggering/not triggering the alarm. This paper exploits a next-generation risk-informed EEW DSS, which incorporates multi-criteria decision-making for evaluating the optimal decision. The proposed DSS integrates engineering-driven loss predictions associated with issuing/not issuing an EEW alert during an event, also considering possible system malfunctions. The DSS is demonstrated for the strategic Gioia Tauro seaport, located in a region with some of the highest seismic hazard in Italy. Real-time seismic risk analyses are conducted for various earthquake scenarios, accounting for event-parameter uncertainties that are integral to any EEW process and considering the multicomponent nature of the port as a system of interconnected elements. The results of these analyses are used as input to the proposed EEW DSS along with end-user risk preferences, to evaluate the optimal decision in each case and to define a series of risk-informed EEW warning thresholds for the port. • The system integrates seismic risk predictions and multi-criteria decision-making. • The system identifies the optimal action (issue or not a warning) for a given event. • The optimal action can be sensitive to stakeholder risk preferences. • The optimal action can depend on the level of functionality interdependence captured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]