International Transport Forum

Some scholars call it the world legal economic order, while others describe it as the 'rules-based' global order. This essay contends that the world urgently needs a new economic order. While the world cannot, and should not, revolutionize the system that is currently in place, it does need to consider how it should be reorganized and subsequently replaced by a new order. It is essential that a new order serves not only the established world powers but a greater number of the newly emerging economies and nations. The development of this new order must ensure that it is representative of a world that is markedly different from the post Second World War 'legal economic order'. Those creating the new order are dealing with new challenges that could not even be imagined at the end of the Second World War. Humanity now inhabits a world that is more interconnected, more interdependent and, in a word, more 'global'. This connectivity is part and parcel of the process of globalization, which at this point cannot be avoided. China and other emerging powers will be greater contributors to the process of globalization if they follow fundamental principles that benefit all of mankind.

This paper analyses the potential impacts on global trade initiated by the Belt and Road Initiative. The Initiative is examined as a collection of planned transport-corridor developments and discusses their impact on maritime trade flows.

From a European, regional and local perspective, as well as from the perspective of port authorities, it is important that waterborne transport becomes sustainable. As possible solutions to comply with new types of legislation (SECA-zones), shipping companies consider amongst others the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low sulphur fuel. An important aspect in the choice of fuel are the current bunker strategies of the shipping companies.Therefore, this research deals with the bunker market and wants to increase the insight into the strategy of the shipping companies, why they bunker in Antwerp or in another port (e.g. Rotterdam). Which criteria are the most important: the price per tonne, the quality of the fuel, or another characteristic (e.g. calling pattern)?The research question is answered with a discrete choice experiment, evaluating the preferences of the shipping lines. A multinomial logit model is chosen for this experiment because of the low expected number of respondents. The research is further expanded with more in-depth interviews with bunkering decision makers of various shipping companies.

With 80 % of world trade carried by sea, seaports provide crucial linkages in global supply-chains and are essential for the ability of all countries to access global markets. Seaports are likely to be affected directly and indirectly by climatic changes, with broader implications for international trade and development. Due to their coastal location, seaports are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events associated with increasing sea levels and tropical storm activity, as illustrated by hurricane “Sandy”. In view of their strategic role as part of the globalized trading system, adapting ports in different parts of the world to the impacts of climate change is of considerable importance. Reflecting the views of a diverse group of stakeholders with expertise in climate science, engineering, economics, policy, and port management, this essay highlights the climate change challenge for ports and suggests a way forward through the adoption of some initial measures. These include both “soft” and “hard” adaptations that may be spearheaded by individual port entities, but will require collaboration and support from a broad range of public and private sector stakeholders and from society at large. In particular, the essay highlights a need to shift to more holistic planning, investment and operation.

Despite the importance of reliability, few countries monitor it or explicitly incorporate it into transport policy making. Nevertheless, a number of policy options are available to improve this aspect of transport management. Active management of the network through ramp metering is recognized as an efficient way to control motorway traffic and improve average travel time. Far less is said about the reliability benefits of ramp metering. This paper assesses reliability benefits of ramp metering on the basis of a before-and-after study on the A6W, a French motorway near Paris. Several indicators for travel time variability are applied before and after the introduction of ramp metering. For purposes of taking reliability into account in policy impact evaluation, cost–benefit assessment provides a consistent framework within which to assess the monetized benefits. The monetary value of the reliability benefits of ramp metering is therefore calculated, and the policy implications of the results are discussed. The results suggest that in addition to providing gains in average travel time, ramp metering significantly improves reliability of travel times. It is also proposed that indices such as buffer time or planning time are useful for communicating the results, both for network operators and for users. Failing to unbundle the time-savings benefits of a project between average travel time and the variability in travel time is likely to lead to suboptimal policy solutions. Managing existing capacity better can be a cost-effective way to improve both average travel time and the variability in travel time.