International Maritime Transport Costs

Gordon Wilmsmeier is Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC) and Honorary Professor for Maritime Transport Geography at the University of Applied Sciences, Bremen, Germany.

’The globalization of trade makes maritime transportation a remarkably important derived service in the world economy. Gordon Wilmsmeier analyses the most crucial factors that explain the complexity of maritime transport costs over the last decades in Latin America, a region that is highly dependent on maritime trade, and evaluates its relative importance using a comprehensive empirical approach which is clear, path-breaking and up-to-date.’ Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso, University of Goettingen, Germany and University Jaume I, Spain ’International Maritime Transport Costs provides a unique piece of knowledge about transport costs and the impacts on economic development. Research, theory, examples from the industry and much more are combined in this work creating an indispensable benchmark which can now be applied directly towards more sustainable economic development around the world.’ Ricardo J. Sanchez, United Nations ECLAC, Chile ’As both globalization and the restructuring of global product and service value chains have promised greater prosperity to less developed nations, and trade facilitation efforts have enhanced that promise, international transport costs have challenged that progress. Gordon Wilmsmeier has stepped fearlessly into the quagmire of trade and transport relationships, decomposed the elements impacting transport costs in Latin America and skillfully evaluated the contribution of a wide range of cost influencers from market demand to traditional distance arguments to port reform. His conclusions will prove insightful to government policy makers as they seek to understand the complexity of transport costs and improve economic outcomes for their country or region.’ Mary R. Brooks, Dalhousie University, Canada

• Contents: Foreword, Jan Hoffmann; Introduction; Theoretical framework; Determinants of maritime transport costs - defining the dimensions of complexity; Empirical analysis; Revealing the complexity of maritime transport costs - empirical results and analysis; Beyond the role of distance - maritime industry and network structures - as determinants of competitiveness in international trade; Appendices; References; Index.