INTER-PORT COMPETITION AND INLAND CONTAINER TRANSPORT: A Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Approach to Achieve lntermodal Transport System Development Strategies in Taiwan

Abstract

Inland container transport has intensified over the past thirty years in Taiwan. It is closely related to inter-port competition and port selection by container carriers. In the 1980's, large containerships only berthed at Kaohsiung port due to the limit of container terminal operation capacities of Keelung port and the carrier's regional hub port decision in the country region. The container traffic of the south-north motorways made them more crowded and increased road maintenance expenses. The purpose of this research is to study inter-port competition and inland container transport flows in Taiwan. Although Taiwan is an island, the freight transport policy has been focused on rail and motorway rather than sea transportation. Therefore, it is intended to study the contexts of inland container traffic flows and the inter-port competition model. Following from this, the main objectives are to understand the details of container ports in order to identify the major criteria and variables related to the development of the intermodal freight transport system and then to create an integrated decision-making process model as a framework to help the public sector make quality decisions. We designed, tested and evaluated a public involvement process that identified public values for use in the development of an intermodal transport system for the container port. The methodology of this research includes the development of a Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and validated by the use of priority setting for the intermodal transport system at Kaohsiung port as a case study. The main idea behind mathematical programming is the optimal selection of a set of research activities given limited resource availability, decision constraints and the pursuit of multiple objectives. A final model addresses the simultaneous analysis of the selection process clearly able to be traced back by all parties. This research developed a framework that will enable the public sector to make better decisions when selecting intermodal transport system proposals and also save decision-makers time and effort.