Functional Analysis of Port Performance as a Strategic Tool for Strengthening a Port’s Competitive and Economic Potential

This paper presents a methodology that allows policy makers to determine a port’s strengths and weaknesses. This methodology provides the basis for the identification of required policy measures intended at strengthening a port’s competitive position and optimising its economic potential. In addition, in this paper, a recent application to the Belgian seaports, is described. In general terms, the proposed methodology aims to provide an efficient tool for the analysis of functional strengths and weaknesses in ports, offering a substantial improvement over conventional techniques. The methodological approach consists of four sequential stages, of which the traffic analysis and bottleneck assessment stages are discussed in this paper.International Journal of Maritime Economics (2000) 2, 119–140; doi:10.1057/ijme.2000.11