BY TOBY B. GOOLEY, MANAGING EDITOR
PORTS
specialreport
For once,
it’s
just
about the
money
What makes seaports’
customers happy?
Not what you might
expect, according to
a recent survey.
PEOPLE TEND TO EQUATE SEAPORTS WITH STATIC INFRAstructure. And it’s not hard to see why. Ports cannot simply pick up
and move the container terminals, bulk handling facilities, or roadways they build. But they do have some flexibility. They can, for
example, deepen channels and expand terminal facilities.
Trouble is, these infrastructure improvements typically take many
years to complete, while the needs of ports’ customers—shippers,
carriers, and other port facility users—may change very quickly. And
that raises a question: Do ports win and retain business based on
their infrastructure and efficiency, or do customers use different
measures to evaluate port service quality?
A new research project seeks to answer this and other questions by
asking port users just how they evaluate port performance and how
well seaports are meeting their needs. Here’s a look at what
researchers have learned so far, along with information on how you
can participate in this groundbreaking study.
NOT BY EFFICIENCY ALONE
The study is being conducted by the Port Performance Research
Network (PPRN), a group of nearly 60 maritime economists from 14
countries. Led by Mary R. Brooks, the William A. Black Chair of
Commerce at Dalhousie University’s School of Business in Halifax,
Nova Scotia, the survey will focus initially on ports in the United
States and Canada but will soon
expand to other countries.
Most port research to
