Does containerisation reduce the constraints imposed by distance in seaborne trade?

Ignacio Del Rosal

Maritime Policy & Management, 2024, vol. 51, issue 1, 35-49

Abstract: Containerisation has changed the geography of production, trade, and distribution in the global economy. Particularly, the use of containers may have reduced the constraints imposed by distance. However, this hypothesis has not been specifically addressed in the literature, arguably due to a lack of available data. This paper makes use of the European Comext database and examines if there are significant differences in the effect of distance on EU containerised and non-containerised seaborne trade flows with third countries. The empirical results support the idea that containerization reduces the effect of distance on seaborne trade. The estimates of distance elasticity for containerised seaborne trade flows are smaller than those for non-containerised ones, both at the aggregate and sectoral levels. The container may bring remote and less developed countries closer to the central nodes of the world economy.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2022.2115572

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