Time centrality in transport

In the transport sector, time is an important service variable. Generally speaking, high-speed services can command a higher price than slower alternatives. Recent signals indicate the introduction of a new transport option in the shipping industry: fastships. In Japan, small fastships – about 300 TEU – are already in operation and the introduction of a fastship service across the Atlantic with 1,460 TEU ships has been announced a couple of times. These developments justify attention to the question: 'what is the Value-of-Time (VOT) in maritime freight transport?' In an attempt to answer this question, a model is developed here, aimed at analysing the impact of time on transport choices. As an illustration, this model is used to analyse the case study of a fastship service across the Atlantic Ocean. The model shows that a fastship service should be able to ensure a limited market share.