River Depth and Container Port Market Shares: The Impact of Deepening the Scheldt River on the West European Container Hub-Port Market Shares

For the economic and financial evaluation of investment projects in container ports it is important to know the relation between container throughput and the price of using the port, the demand function of the port's services. The accessibility of the Port of Antwerp is greatly influenced by the depth of the Scheldt River. For the assessment of the economic impact of a river deepening project the demand function for the Port of Antwerp is derived. We have distinguished, among other variables of the demand function, a ‘maritime resistance variable’ expressing the time ships have to wait for the tide. This variable appeared to be statistically significant and to play an important role for the assessment of the competitive position of the Port of Antwerp with respect to other ports in North West Europe. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2005) 7, 336–355. doi:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100142