Based on in-depth empirical research, this book develops our understanding of maritime transport costs, the maritime industry and the competitiveness of regions in a global market environment through a geographical lens. Further, the book uses a unique set of data that gives an extensive insight into Latin American international maritime transport costs and its determinants. This is a clear call for policy makers and port authorities to strengthen transnational cooperation in order to improve the development of the whole system of maritime transport, focusing on the causes that put regions at risk of becoming peripheral and uncompetitive.

Trade liberalization and the breakup of private carrier agreements could reduce average liner transport prices by a third and cut costs on goods carried to the United States alone by up to $3 billion.

January 2001 Trade liberalization and the breakup of private carrier agreements could reduce average liner transport prices by a third and cut costs on goods carried to the United States alone by up to $3 billion. Maritime transport costs significantly impede international trade. Fink, Mattoo, and Neagu examine why these costs are so high in some countries and quantify the importance of two explanations: restrictive trade policies and private anti-competitive practices. Both matter, they find, but private anti-competitive practices have the greater impact. Trade liberalization and the breakup of private carrier agreements would lead to a reduction in average liner transport prices of a third and cost savings of up to $3 billion on goods carried to the United States alone. The policy implications are clear: not only should government policy be further liberalized, but there should be stronger international disciplines on restrictive business practices. Fink, Mattoo, and Neagu propose developing such disciplines in the current round of services negotiations at the World Trade Organization. This paper--a product of Trade, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to assess the implications of liberalizing trade in services. This research is supported in part by the U.K. Department for International Development. The authors may be contacted at [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

Recent literature has emphasized the importance of transport costs and infrastructure in explaining trade, access to markets, and increases in per capita income. For most Latin American countries transport costs are a greater barrier to U.S. markets than import tariffs. The authors investigate the determinants of the costs of shipping to the United States using a large database (more than 300,000 observations a year) on shipments of products at the six-digit level of the Harmonized System of classification from different ports around the world. They find that distance and containerization matter. They find that the efficiency of ports is also important. Improving the efficiency of a port from the 25th to the 75th percentile reduces shipping costs by 12 percent. (On average, having bad ports is equivalent to being 60 percent farther away from markets.) Inefficient ports also increase handling costs, which are part of shipping costs. Finally, the authors try to explain variations in port efficiency. They find that the variations are linked to excessive regulation, the prevalence of organized crime, and the general condition of the country's infrastructure.

This series contains the decisions of the Court in both the English and French texts.

This series contains the decisions of the Court in both the English and French texts.

Based on in-depth empirical research, this book develops our understanding of maritime transport costs, the maritime industry and the competitiveness of regions in a global market environment through a geographical lens. Further, the book uses a unique set of data that gives an extensive insight into Latin American international maritime transport costs and its determinants. This is a clear call for policy makers and port authorities to strengthen transnational cooperation in order to improve the development of the whole system of maritime transport, focusing on the causes that put regions at risk of becoming peripheral and uncompetitive.