Container Port Production and Economic Efficiency

Efficient measurement plays a vital role in any sort of production but there is a dearth of both applications and in-depth research relating to the container port industry. This book analyzes the relationship between ownership, competition and port efficiency by applying traditional theories in industrial organization and examining them empirically. It is the first to conduct comprehensive comparisons of alternative approaches to efficiency measurement for the industry. This original work makes an important contribution to the establishment of central government policy on port investment, policy and governance.

DR. TENGFEI WANG is a Research Associate in the School of Marine Science & Technology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Previously, he undertook his PhD research in the Department of Shipping and Transport Logistics of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is a graduate with a bachelors and masters degree from Dalian Maritime University. His research interests include container port performance measurement, transportation network modelling, shipping and port competition and co-operation and the application of game theory.

PROFESSOR KEVIN CULLINANE is Chair in Marine Transport & Management at the University of Newcastle in the U.K. He was previously Professor and Head of the Department of Shipping & Transport Logistics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Head of the Centre for International Shipping & Transport at Plymouth University, Senior Partner in his own transport consultancy company and Research Fellow at the University of Oxford Transport Studies Unit. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport and has been a transport adviser to the governments of Hong Kong, Egypt, Chile and the U.K. He holds visiting Professorships at a number of institutions and an Honorary Professorship at the University of Hong Kong.

DR. DONG-WOOK SONG is Assistant Professor in Transport and Logistics Management at the Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Hong Kong. Formerly, he was an Assistant Professorin Maritime and Port Economics within the Department of Shipping & Transport Logistics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. After graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in Shipping Management at the Korea Maritime University, he pursued his MSc and PhD at the Centre for International Shipping and Transport, University of Plymouth, UK. Dr Song has been interested in such research areas as managerial and operational aspects of seaports, particularly container ports, the analysis of port privatisation policy and its impact, and port efficiency and performance measurement.