Inland terminal location selection: Strengthening the position of the shipping line in the container port hinterland

In the last decades, the importance of the hinterland transport leg as a component of the overall container transport chain has been recognized by both scholars and industry professionals, specifically from shipping lines. Shipping lines aim to gain market share in the container port hinterlands by means of offering inland transport chain services to their customers, which should be sufficiently attractive based on costs, operational efficiency and provided services. A particular way of improving the inland transport chain is by effectively making use of inland terminals. Inland terminals allow to transport containers through cost-efficient intermodal set-ups and can be used as local storage spaces for customers’ containers. By setting up inland terminals dedicated to the needs of the shipping line and its customers, capacity can be sufficiently committed to import and export container flows and a unique selling point in the hinterland can be created which facilitates the provision of door-to-door services to customers. The location of such an inland terminal within the inland transport chain is essential; it determines the distances between the terminal and the seaport and shipper/consignee locations, and thus the (cost-)efficiency of the broader transport chain. However, selecting such a location is a complex task in which multiple stakeholders and multiple factors are involved. In that regard, the following research question is formulated: ”How can a shipping line select a location for setting up an own inland terminal in order to increase its control on the container port hinterland?”