Port Infrastructure Pricing: Findings from a Survey of International Seaports

The main aim of this paper is to examine the factors influential to the practical process of seaport infrastructure tariff design and practice. The analysis is based on survey data of 67 seaports representing Australasian, East Asian, European, North American and South American regions. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is firstly carried out to identify the factors influential to the selection of the tariff design model, tariff level and revision process. Subsequently, confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is used to confirm the relationship between the variables. It has been found that demand, pricing knowledge, dynamics of the port and shipping sectors (including competition and ship size), tariff objectives and financial factors are influential factors in infrastructure tariff design. Most ports use a mix of pricing approaches including price discrimination, cost-based pricing, and market-based pricing. Ports are aware of the basic pricing approaches but have limited knowledge of their application. The study has also found that tariff policy, regulatory control, stakeholder participation and transparency are factors influencing infrastructure tariff practices. Based on the results of analysis, implications for port management on the design and practices of port infrastructure tariffs are discussed, and given the exploratory nature of the study, the limitations and implications for future research are also presented