Growth in world trade has fuelled the growth in trade-related services such as transport and logistics.
Tug Docking Ship. Kim Steele/PhotoDisc/Getty Images | The international transportation of merchandise goods remains dominated by the maritime sector for its ability to offer the most economical and reliable mode of transportation over long distances.
Ships can carry far greater volumes of merchandise than any other means of transport, and they utilize nature´s free highway, the sea; unlike road and rail, this does not require infrastructure investments along the entire journey, but only at the seaports.
The key issues for developing countries concerning port logistics are:
- Port infrastructure cannot be built overnight and may take a lifetime to repay. Thus, ports need careful planning and as transport nodes must be connected into national, regional and international transport networks. In addition, ports must be connected to centres of manufacturing, either inland or adjacent to the port.
- Poor connectivity to international transport networks leads to low trade volumes; low trade volumes lead to poor transport connections.
- Governments facing competing demands for public funds may not see that port investment meets the immediate needs of the population, as do housing and job creation.
- Ports have become an integral part of the logistics chain. As such, they increasingly have to provide value added services that go beyond the traditional cargo-handling functions. This has both economic and social implications, as ports historically tended to absorb excess capacity in low-skilled labour. The challenge is how to move these jobs out of the port into manufacturing goods for exports.
- Other challenges relate to upgrading infrastructure to provide longer berth lengths, wider ship turning circles and deeper access channels alongside berths for modern ships. In addition, managing ports´ superstructure has also becoming more sophisticated and demanding.
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