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This paper examines the role of dry ports in intermodal rail systems in Europe and North America, analyzing factors such as governance, stakeholder strategies, logistics network configurations, and competitive settings. It also compares the modal split at selected container ports in both regions and highlights systemic differences between European and North American rail systems.
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DRY PORTS IN EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN INTERMODAL RAIL SYSTEMS: TWO OF A KIND?Jean-Paul RodrigueDept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University, New York, USATheo NotteboomITMMA - University of Antwerp and Antwerp Maritime Academy, Belgium5th Asian Logistics Round Table & ConferenceVancouver, Canada, June 14-15 2012
A Very Dry Port INTRODUCTION:THE ROLE OF Dry Ports
Theme setting • ‘A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected to seaport(s) with high capacity transport mean(s), where customers can leave/pick up their standardised units as if directly to a seaport’ (Roso, 2005; Roso et al., 2009) • First mention of dry ports: Munford, 1980 • Academic research on dry ports has grown exponentially • The terminology frenzy: • dry ports, inland terminals, inland ports, inland hubs, inland logistics centres, inland freight villages, inland clearance depots, inland container depots, intermodal freight centers and inland freight terminals
Dry ports in transport chains Why Hinterland Transportation Matters? Distance Cost • Example: costs in euro per FEU-km in Europe (Notteboom, 2009) • shipping (Asia–N Europe): 0.05 - 0.19 • truck: 1.5 - 4 • Barge: 0.5 - 1.5 10% Port 80% HINTERLAND 90% FORELAND 20%
Dry ports in supply chains The Inland Logistics Funnel: The “Last Mile” in Freight Distribution Capacity Funnel Frequency Funnel Atomization Inland Terminal HINTERLAND FrequencyGap CapacityGap GATEWAY Massification FORELAND Economies of scale Main Shipping Lane INTERMEDIATE HUB
Dry ports in supply chains The Massification of Transportation in Inland Systems Inland Load Center Network Formation Logistics Support Port Port Port Port-Centric IT IT Corridor Inland Terminal Inland Port IT IT IT Intermodal Industrial Park Direct truck End haul Rail / Barge
Dry ports in supply chains Asymmetries between Import and Export-Based Containerized Logistics Customer Distribution Center Inland Terminal Import-Based Gateway • Many Customers • Function of population density. • Geographical spread. • Incites transloading. • High priority (value, timeliness). Repositioning Supplier Export-Based • Few Suppliers • Function of resource density. • Geographical concentration. • Lower priority. • Depends on repositioning opportunities.
Main Governance Models for Inland Ports Source: adapted from Slack & Comtois (2010)
Aim of the paper • Rail accessibility to gateway ports: at the heart of most dry ports • Analysis of rail-based dry ports in North America and Europe • Function of: • Regional and local governance and regulatory settings • Strategies of stakeholders involved • Spatial and functional relations with adjacent and or distant gateway ports • Dynamics in logistics network configurations • Specific competitive setting (e.g. barges in Europe)
Rail freight corridors in Europeunderline the needforscale and concentration(source: Rail NetworkEurope)
Gateway port Multi-port gateway regions 1. Extended Rhine-Scheldt Delta 2. Helgoland Bay 3. UK SE Coast 4. Spanish Med 5. Ligurian Range 6. Seine Estuary 7. Black Sea West 8. South Finland 9. Portugese Range 10. North Adriatic 11. Gdansk Bay 12. Kattegat/The Sound Transhipment/interlining port (transhipment incidence >75%) Gateway port also handling substantial transhipment flows Multi-port gateway region 8 Main shipping route 12 11 2 1 3 Americas West Germany South Poland/ Czech Republic/ Slovakia/Hungary 6 Bavaria Alpine region Americas Northern Italy 7 South France 10 5 9 Madrid and surroundings 4 Main shipping route Middle East – Far East Increasing corridor-based competition among multi-port gateway regions creates new opportunities for rail … Source: Notteboom (2009)
Modal Split at Selected North American Container Ports, 2007
Systemic Differences between North American and European Rail Systems
Dry ports in EuropeInland Ports and Logistics Zones Around the Rhine / Scheldt Delta
Dry ports in Europe • Coordination mechanisms (Van Der Horst and De Langen, 2008) and hinterland access regimes (De Langen and Chouly, 2004) • Port regionalization processes of port authorities • Rotterdam, Barcelona, Le Havre, Marseille, Antwerp, etc.. • Inland terminal concepts by market players • ‘extended gates’ and ‘terminal operator haulage’ (Rodrigue and Notteboom, 2009, Veenstraet al., 2012) • ‘Push’ strategies of shipping lines • From point-to-point services to network services which rely on routing flexibility
Conclusion: The Regional Effect on Dry Ports • The setting of dry ports: • Dominant paradigm in hinterland transportation; massification pressures on the inland segment of freight distribution. • Clustering of logistics sites in the vicinity, leading to a process of logistics polarization and the creation of logistic zones.
Conclusion: The Regional Effect on Dry Ports • Observed regional effects: • Risk of overinvestment • Hub-and-spoke vs. direct rail shuttles • Modal opportunity differences (barge & rail). • Initiators (rail operators / real estate developers vs. local governments). • Insertion in supply chains. • No two dry ports are the same • Best practices can only be applied successfully if one takes into account the relative uniqueness of each dry port setting. • European and North American dry ports are functionally two of a kind
Thank you for your attention ! Photo: Dries Verbraeken