ABSTRACT
Given the tremendous changes in logistics, ports are coping with a very flexible environment. This has brought several major challenges in contemporary maritime transportation, particularly over the hinterland which has received renewed attention in recent years. The maritime component of the global freight transportation system has become very dynamic and efficient. As large segments of freight distribution systems are becoming more closely integrated, port-hinterland relationships have become a fundamental component of freight distribution. It may even been argued, and as paradoxically as it sounds, that contemporary improvements in maritime shipping are mainly derived from improvements in inland transport systems. The current technological and commercial context indicates important changes in the conceptualisation of hinterlands. Among the most significant forces that are shaping hinterlands, the fragmentation of Global Commodity Chains (GCC) can be considered as particularly relevant.
