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Abstract
In containerized cargo shipping, there are two types of port choices. A shipping line chooses its ports of call for each of its liner route to form its liner network. Based on the liner networks of shipping lines, a shipper chooses its port of origin and port of destination (port of O/D) for its shipments. In recent years, it is suggested that a shipper's choice of its port of O/D is influenced by its supply chain arrangement. This paper studies how the supply chain arrangement of a shipper affects its port of O/D selection and vice versa. It then investigates the interaction between the port of call selections of shipping lines and the port of O/D selections of shippers. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with shipping lines that together accounted for more than 25% of the world's container throughput. Interviews with Australian-based freight forwarders and importers were conducted to investigate the interaction between the port of O/D selections of shippers and their supply chain arrangements. Results show that shippers' supply chain arrangements influence their port of O/D selections, but are not considered important by shipping lines in their port of call selections. This may be due to the restricted port choices of both the shippers and the shipping lines, a result of the spatial characteristics of Australia.