An essay on the measurement of productivity in ports

Concern about the high costs incurred in Australian ports has recently been raised at a seminar on 'Shore - Based Shipping Costs' which was convened by the Bureau of Transport Economics (BTE). Although many speakers at the seminar were able to cite factors which have contributed to the current state of affairs, no general explanation of the reasons for the poor performance of the ports sector was advanced. As a reflection of this situation, the Common wealth Minister for Transport announced after the seminar that a national Task Force would be established to investigate the reasons for high costs and delays in Australia's ports. If it is clear that the state of knowledge about ports needs to be advanced, it is not immediately apparent how this might be achieved. This thesis sets out to assess what contribution might be provided by productivity studies which are based upon established economic theory and practice. It is noted that recent developments in this body of theory have been applied successfully in other sectors of the transport industry. This suggests that production theory might also be applied to good effect in the case of ports. Notwithstanding this, there has been very little previous work carried out in the topic. Given this background, the aim of the present study was to explore the relevance of the theory to ports, and to propose fruitful avenues for further applied work. The credit for generating my interest in production theory is due to John Taplin in his capacity as Professor of Transport Economics and to John Madden at the University of Tasmania. Subsequently, Associate Professor David Hensher of Macquarie University has generously given his time as an external supervisor, and I would like to acknowledge my deep gratitude for his advice and encouragement. At the University of Tasmania, assistance has been given by Tony Hocking and Or Nick Groenewold. Finally, this thesis could not have been completed without the encouragement of my wife, Karen, and the forbearance of my children, Saxon, Chenoa, Dyani and Corwin.