The Economic Theory of Container Port Production

Abstract

Understanding the economic theory that underpins container port production is a prerequisite for policy making or taking action in order to improve the performance of a container port. This is not an easy task, however, because of the complexity of container port production. This complexity is not only related to container port operations and their management, but also to the macroeconomic environment and market structure under which container ports operate. This chapter sets out to describe the economic functions of a port and the challenges for contemporary container ports arising from the complicated nature of their operations and the challenging market demands of port users and other market players.