ABSTRACT
Nonetheless, and no matter what the definition used, it is commonly agreed upon that containerization has extended the gateway ports’ geographical reach (OECD/ITF 2009). An important consequence of this is the increasing overlapping of ports’ hinterlands and the intensification of inter-port competition (Hayuth 1981; Starr and Slack 1995). This development was made particularly evident in Europe, where the expanding hinterland coverage changed port industry from one where monopolistic or oligopolistic markets were the norm (with the corresponding ‘captive’ hinterlands), to one of intense inter-port competition with large ‘shared’ or ‘contestable’ hinterlands. Many European container ports now act as gateways to extensive inland networks (Notteboom 2008).
