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The effect of distance on cargo flows: a case study of Chinese imports and their hinterland destinations

Author

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  • Likun Wang

    (Shanghai Maritime University)

  • Anne Goodchild

    (University of Washington)

  • Yong Wang

    (Chongqing Jiaotong University)

Abstract

With the rapid development of ports in China, competition for cargo is growing. The ability of a port to attract hinterland traffic is affected by many factors, including distance to the hinterland destinations. This paper studies the effects of distance on import cargo flows from a port to its hinterland. Two major findings are reported. Through a Spatial Concentration Analysis, this study shows that cargo imported through ports with relatively low throughput is primarily delivered to local areas, with the proportion of cargo delivered to local areas from larger ports being much smaller. The present study also shows (according to a gravity model, the Gompertz function and several other methods) that cargo flows from a large port to its hinterland increase with distance below a certain threshold, while cargo flows approach a stable state once they exceed this threshold. These results can be used to inform port managers and policy makers regarding the hinterland markets for ports of different sizes.

Suggested Citation

  • Likun Wang & Anne Goodchild & Yong Wang, 2018. "The effect of distance on cargo flows: a case study of Chinese imports and their hinterland destinations," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 20(3), pages 456-475, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:marecl:v:20:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1057_s41278-017-0079-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s41278-017-0079-3
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    2. Fabian Baier & Peter Berster & Marc Gelhausen, 2022. "Global cargo gravitation model: airports matter for forecasts," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 219-238, February.
    3. Behzad Behdani & Bart Wiegmans & Violeta Roso & Hercules Haralambides, 2020. "Port-hinterland transport and logistics: emerging trends and frontier research," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 22(1), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Mounir Amdaoud & César Ducruet & Marc‐Antoine Faure, 2022. "The mutual specialization of port and urban functions: The case of France," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(2), pages 439-460, April.
    5. Guerrero, David & Thill, Jean-Claude, 2021. "Challenging the shipper's location problem in port studies: An analysis of French AOC wine shipments to the US," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

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