The transition from freight consolidation to logistics(3)

The transition from freight consolidation to logistics

R.K.Cheungetal./JournalofTransportGeography11(2003)245–253247

athroughputof2millionTEUsin1985,itstra cin-creasedby600%in10yearstoreach12millionTEUsby1995.In2001,itachievedathroughputof18millionTEUs.Backinthe1980s,muchofHongKongÕscon-tainertra cwaslocallybased,withexportsofmanu-facturedgoodsfromthecolonyformingthecore.Whiletheportcontinuestoservethisfunction,localmanu-facturingshipmentshavebeendecliningprecipitouslyasaproportionoftotaltra c.TherealgrowthofHongKongportisaccountedforbytransfersofgoodsfromChina.ThedecisionmadebytheChineseleadershipunderDengXiaoPingtoestablishspecialeconomiczonestopromoteeconomicdevelopmentbroughtaboutamassiveindustrialisation.TheShenzhenregion,im-mediatelyadjacenttoHongKong,wastheprimarybene ciaryofthiseconomictransformation,butseveralothercoastalareas,notablytheShanghaiandTianjinregionsalsogrewsigni cantly,althoughataslightlylaterdate.

TheportofHongKongwasabletoreapthebene tsofChinaÕsindustrialisation(Wang,1998).Lackinganydeepwaterportswithmoderncontainer-handlinginfra-structures,thegoodsweretranshippedatHongKongfromtrucks(inthecaseofShenzhenshipments),riverbarges(inthecaseoffreightfromtherestofthePearlRiverDelta(PRD)),andcoastalshipping(inthecaseofcargoesfromtherestofChina).HongKongbecameamassivecontainertranshipmentcentre.

Asthe1990sprogressedimportantchangesbegantotakeplace.Chinabegantoupgradeitsownportfacili-ties,andatrendwassetinplaceformoreandmoreofthetra cfromEasternandNorthernChinatobeshippeddirectlyfromlocalports,suchasShanghai.Bytheendofthedecade,HongKongsawitsChinesehinterlandshrinktoincludeonlythePRD(WangandSlack,2000).Thecontinuedeconomicgrowthandsheersizeofthisregion,however,wassu cienttomaintainHongKongÕspre-eminenceintheworldcontainerportleague.

Atthebeginningofthe21stcentury,thepositionofHongKongportisbeingthreatened.Overthelast veyears,newportfacilitiesinShenzhenhavebegunoper-ationandhavestarteddirectoverseasshipments.TheannualgrowthrateofcontainerthroughputinShenzhenwasconsistentlyover50%from1997to2001.In2001,thegrowthratewas127%andthecontainerthroughputreached vemillionTEUs.Itissigni cantthatthesenewterminalsaremanagedandoperatedbythetwomostimportantterminaloperatorsinHongKongport:HutchisonÕsHongKongInternationalTerminalsandModernTerminals.Exploitingadvantagesoflowerop-eratingand xedcosts,YantianandShekouareemergingaslocalcompetitorstothehegemonyofHongKong.Theyareclosertothemarketsthemselvesanddonotrequiregoodstoundergothedelaysexperiencedatthebordercrossingpoints.TheinvolvementofHong

KongterminalcompaniesinthesedevelopmentsisseenbymanyanearlywarningthatHongKongmuststrivetoretainitscompetitiveedge.Clearlythecompetitiveedgecannotbebasedoncost,sincetheportsinthePRDwillalwaysbecheaper.HongKongseesitsfuturebaseduponthee ciencyofitsoperationsanditsabilitytoprovidelogisticsservicesatamuchhigherlevelthanispossibleacrosstheborder.

3.1.CharacteristicsoftheCFSindustry

Cargoconsolidationisabusinessthatgrewoutofcontainerisation.Takingsmallindividualshipmentsandconsolidatingtheminacontainer,orreceivingacon-tainerandstrippingitofitscontentsbecameanim-portantandnecessaryactivityinportcitiesinthe1970s.Thedevelopmentofcontainerfreightstations(CFS)wasseenasanimportantvalue-addedactivitythatwentbeyondthestorageofgoodsinwarehousing(Hayuth,1986).Despitethisapparentimportance,therehasbeenadearthofstudiesonCFS.InthecaseofHongKong,thedevelopmentofconsolidationwasmadenecessarybythecharacterofitsearlycontainerbusiness.ManyofthecityÕsmanufacturerswereeithertoosmalltogener-ateenoughproductsto llacontainer,orlackedthespaceintheirhigh-risepremisestoholdacontainer.Intheearly1970s,itwasestimatedthat75%ofallcon-tainertra catHongKongrequiredconsolidation(Sinclair,1992).Today,theproportioniscertainlysmaller.Althoughtherearenoprecisedata,there-spondentsinasurvey(describedlater)estimatedthattheproportionrequiringconsolidationinHongKongwaslessthan10%in1998.

TwolargepurposelybuiltstructureswereconstructedtohousetheconsolidatorsinHongKong.BothareadjacenttotheKwaiChungcontainerberths.Theyareimpressivestructures.TheHongKongInternationalDistributionCentre(HIDC)provides4.5millionsquarefeetofspace,andtheATLLogisticsCentre(previouslyknownasAsiaTerminalLimited)issixmillionsquarefeetandwasenteredintheGuinnessBookofWorldRecordsin1994asthelargestindustrialcomplexintheworld.Theinternallayoutofthetwobuildingsisdif-ferent,butbotharebuiltbymodule.Eachmoduleprovidesaspaceof5000–8000squarefeet,alongwithaloadingbayandthreeto veparkingspaces.Tenantsleasebythemodule,sothatasmallconsolidatormightleaseonlytwoorthreemodules,whilealargecompanymightleaseupto20.Anotherdistinctivefeatureofthetwomulti-storeybuildingsaretherampsthatprovidedirectcontainer-truckaccesstoevery oor.Therampsprovidingtheaccessineachofthebuildingsare7.8and8kmlong.

Thesetwostructureshouseover80%ofcargocon-solidatorsinHongKong,indicatingaremarkabledegreeofgeographicconcentration.Sinclair(1992)