Route Choice of Containership on a Global Scale and Model Development: Focusing on the Suez Canal

This article, from a special issue on the role of maritime clusters and innovation in shaping future global trade, uses a case study of the Suez Canal to explore the route choice of containerships on a global scale. The authors note that the Suez Canal (SC) is an important infrastructure for the maritime shipping on a global scale, primarily because the costs and distances of voyages can be greatly reduced, especially for vessels navigating between Asia and Europe. The authors first report on the share of the SC transit by region pair (cargo origin and destination) to recognize how the SC is competing with other routes (such as a route via the Panama Canal or the Cape of Good Hope) in the international container shipping market. The authors compare the shares estimated in different years (2010 and 2013) to examine the recent change in the competitive environment of the SC. They then present an aggregated logit model that can be used to describe the shares of each route. The model focuses on the supply side of the container shipping market, specifically, monetary shipping cost and time. The authors contend that their model corresponds well to the actual data of the shipping routes under study and propose the model for use in simulating changes such as the Panama Canal expansion.

  • Availability:
  • Authors:
    • Shibasaki, Ryuichi
    • Azuma, Toshio
    • Yoshida, Tetsuo
  • Publication Date: 2016-7

Language

  • English

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01623702
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jan 25 2017 3:08PM