Testing port choice models using physical and monetary data: a comparative case study for the Spanish container trades

ABSTRACT

Transport costs are useful explanatory variables in port choice research. Nevertheless, the availability of such information usually poses a problem. Thus, the formulation of an alternative approach, to be used as a proxy of these variables, would be desirable. The objective of this study is to improve the analysis of container port choice using logit models by adopting physical non-monetary indicators based on maritime distance and ship size. The statistical tests of logit models on port choice using these new variables are compared with the result of using cost variables for the same data set of choice positions. The statistical outcome is good and allows us to present this new approach as a contribution to the literature on port choice modeling.

KEYWORDS:

• Container port choice
• logit model
• physical nonmonetary indicators
• economies of ship size
• Spain
• containers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the Government of Spain [project number MTM2011-23205] and the SiWi Foundation [arrangement number 2011-1].