The impact of terminal handling charges on overall shipping charges : an empirical study

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Transportation research PART a-policy and practice

Publication Date

10-1-2003

Volume

37

Issue

8

First Page

703

Last Page

716

Publisher

Pergamon Press

Keywords

Transportation, Shipping, Port, Terminal handling charges

Abstract

Before the introduction of terminal handling charges (THCs), traditional freight rates included both ocean freight charges and terminal charges at ports. Since the introduction of THCs in 1991, the freight rate has become a “port-to-port” charge that covers only the sea leg, while the on-shore costs of using the container terminals are charged separately as THCs. Although both THCs and freight rates are collectively set by conferences, in this study we argue that the former are easier to enforce because they are invariant to other attributes such as haulage distance, inland transport services and types of commodity being shipped. This argument is consistent with the empirical findings from this study that suggest the separation of ocean freight rates from terminal charges has increased the overall shipping charges. In addition, we find that THCs affect the Hong Kong container handling industry by lowering its throughput.

DOI

10.1016/S0965-8564(03)00026-0

Print ISSN

09658564

E-ISSN

18792375

Funding Information

The work described in this paper was substantially supported by a grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No.: HKUST6211/97H).

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Fung, M. K., Cheng, L. K., & Qiu, L. D. (2003). The impact of terminal handling charges on overall shipping charges: An empirical study. Transportation research PART a-policy and practice, 37(8), 703-716. doi: 10.1016/S0965-8564(03)00026-0

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