Performance Evaluation of Asian Port Distriparks Using Factor Analysis

Abstract

Business environment in which a port carries out its management and operations is increasingly reflected by intra- and inter-port competition in the regional and global scale and thus by port concentration and deconcentration. Due to the changes in the port industry, most countries are making great effort to secure their ports as a hub by investing enormous funds on port facilities and by improving efficiency in port operations and management. To advance their competitiveness, the port authorities in the region have implemented various strategies, such as building logistic centres, expanding port back-up areas, cooperation between port authorities in the same areas and advancing IT systems. Especially, the port authorities have built the distriparks, such as logistic centers and off-dock container yards, in periphery of port to cope with growing rival ports quickly. The distriparks have advanced their port competitiveness and increased their profit through improving port productivity. Having the aforementioned in mind, purposes of this paper are to investigate the port performance related to its distriparks and to suggest the appropriate ways to design and plan its distriparks against Asian cases, where competition is highly severe and container cargoes are quickly increasing. In addition, it will suggest the points of difference between hub ports and regional ports and/ or among the ports in terms of the performance related to distriparks.