ABSTRACT
Port hinterlands are challenging to delimit as they vary according to the type of commodities, such as for bulk versus containers, seasonality, business cycles, technological changes, changes in transport policy, and the cost structure of inland transportation modes. Terminal operations and hinterland access are influenced by containership size since each port call is associated with larger volumes. The direct hinterland of a seaport tends to be continuous. The maritime/land interface concerns the relationships between maritime and inland freight distribution, which are two domains of freight circulation. The concept of foreland-based regionalization refers to integrating intermediate hubs in regional shipping networks, where the maritime foreland of the intermediate hub is functionally acting as a hinterland. Port regionalization and hinterland transportation tend to be coordinated along corridors, which have become the object of intense modal competition with the growth of movements of freight. In particular, long-distance rail corridors or landbridges can compete with maritime trade routes.
