Containerisation, Box Logistics and Global Supply Chains: The Integration of Ports and Liner Shipping Networks

In 2006, container shipping celebrated its 50th anniversary as an innovation that had a tremendous impact on the geography of production and distribution. Production became globalised by a better usage of comparative advantages while distribution systems were able to interact more efficiently. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMaritime economics & logistics Vol. 10; no. 1-2; pp. 152 - 174
Main Authors Notteboom, Theo, Rodrigue, Jean-Paul
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Palgrave Macmillan UK 01.03.2008
Palgrave Macmillan
SeriesMaritime Economics and Logistics
Subjects
20th century
Business and Management
Container ships
Containers
Cost control
Economies of scale
Geography
Innovations
Logistics
Marine transportation
Maritime industry
Market penetration
Operations Management
Ports
Productivity
Studies
Supply chains
Technological change
Transportation economics
freight distribution
global supply chains
liner shipping
box logistics
hinterland transport
Containerisation
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Summary:In 2006, container shipping celebrated its 50th anniversary as an innovation that had a tremendous impact on the geography of production and distribution. Production became globalised by a better usage of comparative advantages while distribution systems were able to interact more efficiently. This paper analyses the mounting pressures on box logistics in light of global supply chains. It will be demonstrated that the basic principle of containerisation remained the same notwithstanding scale increases in vessels and terminals and a clear productivity increase in container handling. Although the container was an innovation initially applied for maritime transportation, the emergence of global supply chains has placed intense pressures to implement containerisation over inland freight distribution systems. Box – containerised – logistics is increasingly challenged to deal with the ever-increasing time, reliability and costs requirements of global supply chains. Imbalances in trade flows and accessibility and capacity constraints are among some of the developments that are making it increasingly difficult to reap the full benefits of containerisation.
ISSN:1479-2931
1479-294X
DOI:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100196