Port Management, Operation and Competition

In the past decades, the role of port management has changed quite fundamentally. It has gradually evolved from being a supervisory and determining capacity to a more subordinate function that often consists solely of providing the required facilities for the various parties involved in port operations. New technologies and strategic developments have led almost automatically to greater port competition, both at the port authority level and at the level of companies operating within the various ports. This contribution deals consecutively with evolutions in port management, the ever-changing port environment and the need for an appropriate set of analytical tools. Finally, we consider some recent findings in research into port competition. There appears to be a clear connection between port management and the manner in which players compete within or between ports. Each port management is preoccupied with protecting and/or improving its competitive position in a fierce struggle with any party that is considered a potential threat. The port that contributes to the cheapest logistics chain is, in theory at least, most likely to be called at. It is thereby important for a port authority to know who that port user is, who makes the choice of port and which factors influence this choice.