TY - JOUR
T1 - Does the traffic volume of a port determine connectivity? Revisiting port connectivity measures with high-frequency satellite data
AU - Bai, Xiwen
AU - Cheng, Liangqi
AU - Yang, Dong
AU - Cai, Ouchen
N1 - Funding Information:
This research is supported by Chinese National Natural Foundation Projects ( 71971185 , 72188101 and 72001123 ), and research project ( 2021A1515010699 ) funded by the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (GDSTC), China.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - Seaports play an important role in the global shipping network. Shipping participants often attach great importance to the measurement of container port connectivity, as it reflects countries' access to world markets. As a result, various port connectivity index systems have been proposed by members of the shipping industry and scholars. In recent years, technological developments especially the advancement of high coverage and real-time Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, have provided a chance to improve the scope and frequency of the existing index systems. An improved system is expected to reflect the dynamic changes in a port's connectivity which may be induced by either local disruptions or shocks in the wider economy. This study builds a monthly container port connectivity index system by applying big data mining techniques, graph theory, and principal component analysis (PCA) to AIS data, taking both port factors and shipping network factors into consideration. AIS records from 2020 are used to calculate the connectivity score of 25 major container ports. We also compare our system with the connectivity index commonly used in the shipping industry, the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI). Our results show that the measurement of connectivity can be improved over indices that depend primarily on indicators of traffic volume. Ports like Antwerp and Tanjung Pelepas rank high in the proposed system due to their sound performance on their accessibility and strategic position in the local region instead of their traffic volume. The monthly index system is also proven to reflect timely changes in the shipping industry through its accurate portrayal of changes in port connectivity during the COVID-19 outbreak.
AB - Seaports play an important role in the global shipping network. Shipping participants often attach great importance to the measurement of container port connectivity, as it reflects countries' access to world markets. As a result, various port connectivity index systems have been proposed by members of the shipping industry and scholars. In recent years, technological developments especially the advancement of high coverage and real-time Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, have provided a chance to improve the scope and frequency of the existing index systems. An improved system is expected to reflect the dynamic changes in a port's connectivity which may be induced by either local disruptions or shocks in the wider economy. This study builds a monthly container port connectivity index system by applying big data mining techniques, graph theory, and principal component analysis (PCA) to AIS data, taking both port factors and shipping network factors into consideration. AIS records from 2020 are used to calculate the connectivity score of 25 major container ports. We also compare our system with the connectivity index commonly used in the shipping industry, the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI). Our results show that the measurement of connectivity can be improved over indices that depend primarily on indicators of traffic volume. Ports like Antwerp and Tanjung Pelepas rank high in the proposed system due to their sound performance on their accessibility and strategic position in the local region instead of their traffic volume. The monthly index system is also proven to reflect timely changes in the shipping industry through its accurate portrayal of changes in port connectivity during the COVID-19 outbreak.
KW - Automatic identification system
KW - Container ports
KW - Global port connectivity
KW - Liner shipping network
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132386155&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103385
DO - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103385
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85132386155
SN - 0966-6923
VL - 102
JO - Journal of Transport Geography
JF - Journal of Transport Geography
M1 - 103385
ER -