Containerization, inter-port competition, and port selection

This paper explores the criteria shippers employ in the port selection process. By focusing on the containerized traffic between the North American Mid-West and Western Europe, the factors considered by exporters and freight forwarders are examined. The findings suggest that decision-makers are influenced more by price and service considerations of land and ocean carriers than by perceived differences in the ports of entry and exit. Port infrastructures do not appear to play an important role in the routeing decisions made by an important group of independent businesses involved in the North Atlantic container trade.