The polarization of global container flows by interoceanic canals: geographic coverage and network vulnerability

César Ducruet ()
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César Ducruet: GC (UMR_8504) - Géographie-cités - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UPD7 - Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: It is widely acknowledged that the two major interoceanic canals of Suez and Panama play a central role in global shipping flows. However, this role has rarely been measured with precision both in terms of the geographic coverage and network topological properties of canal-dependent flows. Based on vessel movement data for containerships, this research clarifies the weight and share of canal-dependent flows globally and at the level of world regions, routes, and ports. It also estimates and maps the effects of removing canal-dependent flows from the network by means of graph-theoretical methods. While main results converge in showing a decreasing importance of canal shipping in the context of growing south-south trade exchanges, certain areas remain more dependent than others, such as Asia, Europe, and North America. The research also underlines factors of port vulnerability across the globe in relation with the two canals.

Keywords: Maritime transport; Graph theory; Panama; Suez; Cascading failures; Complex networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00749639v3
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published in Maritime Policy and Management, 2016, Maritime economics in a Post-Expansion Panama Canal Era, 43 (2), pp.242-260. ⟨10.1080/03088839.2015.1022612⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00749639

DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2015.1022612

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