The changing role of ports as locations for logistics activities

Regional economic development is often driven by port traffic as a source of a variety of economic activity. The focus of this paper is on the role of ports in global supply chains and the opportunities to attract new economic activities in logistics. It is argued that the role of ports as a location for logistics activities evolves with the evolution of logistics concepts. Evidence from Western Europe is included and discussed. With the evolution of logistics concepts towards central coordination and more decentralized physical distribution, ports will see their multinational function diminish, eventually being replaced by logistics activities with a more regional function and more closely integrated with production activities. Ports then will have to face the competition from inland locations for value added logistics activities. The case of logistics developments provides a basis for analyzing increasingly important questions related to what logistics ports can attract and how to achieve greater success in this area.