THE EVALUATION OF COMPETITIVENESS ON COST ADVANTAGE OF REGIONAL HUB PORT: THE CASE STUDY OF TRANS-PACIFIC ROUTE AGAINST KAOHSIUNG PORT

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T Y Tsai
H H Tai

Abstract

Numerous conventional container ports in East Asia are evolving from intercontinental into regional hub ports. This study adopted the Port of Kaohsiung as an example of competition with neighboring ports. The results of this study demonstrated that the Port of Kaohsiung is still a competitive docking port on trans-Pacific trunk routes for North America, despite facing external threats (e.g., upsizing of ships, lack of new deep-water terminals, and new strategic alliances affecting terminal operations), overall shipping cost considerations (e.g., container volume, different ship sizes, and port selection), and increasingly intense competition with neighboring ports. Under such circumstances, the Port of Kaohsiung must keep pace with container ship upsizing, sufficiently increase deep-water terminal capacity, and improve its existing container terminals’ operating efficiency to attract route deployment and larger container ships and thereby maintain its current advantages and position as a regional hub port.

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