Short Sea Shipping as a Sustainable Modal Alternative: Qualitative and Quantitative Perspectives

Michael J. Izdebski, Lokesh Kumar Kalahasthi (), Andrés Regal-Ludowieg and José Holguín-Veras
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Michael J. Izdebski: School of Business and Hospitality, State University of New York at Delhi, Delhi, NY 13753, USA
Lokesh Kumar Kalahasthi: TRIP Centre—Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
Andrés Regal-Ludowieg: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
José Holguín-Veras: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: This study investigated the possibility of using short sea shipping (SSS) as a sustainable freight modal alternative by analyzing data collected from shippers in the New York State Capital Region. To this end, qualitative and quantitative approaches were jointly used. The qualitative analysis focused on exploring in-depth interviews with the decision makers regarding the drivers and the barriers to firms shifting to SSS. The quantitative efforts included estimating discrete choice (ordinal logit) models to assess the influence of four key governing aspects (leadership buy-in, emergency logistics, public policy, and sustainability) on the probabilities of shifting to SSS supported by the findings from the qualitative part. This paper also includes a comprehensive description of various variables, factors influencing the current mode choice, shippers’ perceptions, and willingness to use SSS. The results showed that firms with higher truck shares had fewer chances to switch to SSS unless in emergencies. Unfortunately, sustainability was the least valued by most of the participants in choosing SSS. Hence, lower costs and better service were essential. The ordinal logit models provide a potential tool for policymakers and freight planners to estimate the probability of firms choosing SSS over the current mode.

Keywords: short sea shipping; sustainable freight modal alternatives; in-depth interviews; discrete choice modeling; freight planning and policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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