Managing empty container flows through short sea shipping and regional port systems

This paper proposes a method for managing the flow of empty containers as an integral aspect in the application of short sea shipping and regional port system operational concepts. The paper finds support for the implementation of short sea shipping along the US West Coast and argues in favour of the establishment of regional port systems to provide an appropriate institutional framework for the coordination of public and private investments in short sea shipping. Overall, the paper finds that short sea shipping represents a viable tactic in the implementation of a regional port system development strategy on the West Coast of the USA and should be considered as a possible method for alleviating landside congestion stemming from commercial traffic in major urban corridors. Specific opportunities for the implementation of this method in Southern California are found with the redirecting of empty container flows to secondary ports, as well as with international movements to and from manufacturing regions on the USA-Mexico border.