Assessing International Port Operations

To determine the importance of various port selection factors and the influence of contemporary trade issues on international port operations, a mail survey was conducted of 535 worldwide water ports and water carriers. Some 134 responses were received. Respondents generally agreed about port selection factors, and they ranked equipment availability and loss and damage record as most important. There was, however, little agreement about the influence of contemporary trade issues. Comparison of US and non-US respondents revealed that US interests opposed an increase in the value of the US dollar. US respondents also indicated that ports were not secure from terrorist actions. Comparison of the 46 carrier respondents to the 88 port respondents showed substantial disagreement on such operational and personnel issues as: 1. length of pickup and delivery times, 2. location of container loss and damage, and 3. effects of labor on efficient port operations.