With the progressive integration of ports in supply chains, it has become clear that shippers no longer choose a port per se, but rather a supply chain – a package or bundle of logistics services; a pathway to markets – in which a port is just an element albeit an important one of the system. Yet, surprisingly, a number of studies continue to focus on how a shipper chooses a port in isolation of the chain systems in which it is embedded. Clearly, shipper's influence on port choice decisions is diminishing, particularly now that a single shipping line, a third-party service provider or a supply chain integrator may control the freight from the origin to the final destination using various transport arrangements and multiple alternative pathways designed to minimise the total logistics cost and maximise value for both the customer and the supplier. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest a new and more effective analytical framework within which the modelling of port choice can be conducted and shipper choice decisions well understood. The proposed framework is fundamentally an operationalisation of the earlier paradigm of ports as elements in value-driven chain systems proposed by Robinson in 2002. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2008) 10, 9–34. doi:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100189
