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Maritime Ports and Inland Interconnections: A Transactional Analysis of Container Barge Transport in France

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Non-technological Innovations for Sustainable Transport

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology ((BRIEFSAPPLSCIENCES))

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Abstract

Recent research on maritime ports hinterlands points out the relevance of mass ground transport modes such as barge transport for enormous flows of containers to and from harbours, especially when a maritime port is located at the mouth of a river. Though, the modal share of container barge transport in French maritime ports is significantly lower than elsewhere. Some reports and studies explain the viscosity of container barge transport flows as a result of several factors, generally concentrated around the seaport community. In continuation of previous seminal works, this paper adopts a neo-institutional approach (Williamson in The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. The Free Press, New York, [51], The Mechanisms of Governance. Oxford University Press, Oxford, [52]) of container barge transport to understand how the factors generating this viscosity are managed. Section 5.2 describes the characteristics of the transaction of container barge transport. Section 5.3 is devoted to its attributes (asset specificity, frequency, uncertainty). According to Williamson’s (The Mechanisms of Governance. Oxford University Press, Oxford, [52]) remediableness criterion, the observed governance structure of a given transaction is presumed efficient and aligned to its attributes. Thus, Sect. 5.4 deals with observed governance structures of container barge transport chains with a focus on Le Havre, main French container seaport and shows how agents try to limit opportunism in ex-post haggling over quasi-rents or under-investments. Implementation of a new institutional environment to modify governance structures is analysed, and a comparison with currently implemented governance structures observed in Rhine is made. Finally, Sect. 5.5 suggests ways of dealing with the remaining coordination problems impeding the development of container barge transport in France.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Let’s remind that a Jowi class container barge can carry up to 500 TEUs per trip [6], 250 times more than one truck.

  2. 2.

    In most of the case, the shipper fills the container in his warehouse.

  3. 3.

    Note that it could be part of the transaction’s perimeter when CBT become independent of the maritime chain as it is on the Rhine [55].

  4. 4.

    ECHO (“Envois-CHargeurs-Opérateurs de transport”) is a national survey designed to understand shipper’s practices and who’s measurement unit is the shipment sent by a shipper. For a summary of the ECHO survey’s results, see [28]. The very few observed shipments (70) involving a barge transport in the survey do not permit a quantitative analysis. Hence, our analysis of the data is “qualitative” and the proportions given cannot be statistically representative in the insight of the small sample size. Yet, they are not irrelevant.

  5. 5.

    Since the law n° 2008-660 of July, 4, 2008, related to the port reform, “Great Maritime Ports” in France are owners of the state properties (Art. 15) except those which belong to the maritime public domain or to the natural waterway public domain.

  6. 6.

    Interview of Mr. Fortrye (CFT), November 2010. Yet, remaining gauge differences between these two rivers (IAU 2008, p. 31) will prevent any Jowi class vessel to move on the Seine till Gennevilliers. It will always stay on the Rhine only.

  7. 7.

    These waiting times always have a random dimension since a third party can always influence the transaction (externality) and affect then the possible frequency of the transaction [18].

  8. 8.

    Be n the number of elements in the subset of governance structures and p the number of transactions at stake, n p is the total number of available combinations. Thus, if all the governance structures are taken into account (franchise, joint-venture, quasi-integration, long-term agreements, etc.), the field of potential increased more quickly.

  9. 9.

    The services observed in Dunkirk and Marseille are similar, so they will not be described here. See Frémont et al. (2008) for instance.

  10. 10.

    Law n° 92-496 of June 9, 1992 changing the work arrangements in maritime ports and Law n° 2008-660 of July 4, 2008 related to port reform.

  11. 11.

    Interview of Mr. Fortrye (CFT).

  12. 12.

    Interview of C. Rose, General Secretary of the French Association of Shippers (AUTF).

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  1. Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne (UMR 8174 du NRS), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris cedex 13, France

    Emeric Lendjel & Marianne Fischman

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Correspondence to Emeric Lendjel .

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Lendjel, E., Fischman, M. (2014). Maritime Ports and Inland Interconnections: A Transactional Analysis of Container Barge Transport in France. In: Non-technological Innovations for Sustainable Transport. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09791-6_5

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