Evolution of regional port system in modern logistics

This paper aims to find a way to examine the developing process and causes of regional port system. Taking the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) port cluster as a studying case, nine main ports were considered. Following an overview of port development in the YRD, we analyzed the changing path of port market share. And with Hrishchman-Herfindahl Index (HHI), we investigated the concentration degree of the port system by vertical and horizontal comparison with the time series data during 1996-2006. The analysis reveals that there was a tendency towards de-concentration in the YRD port system during the research period, and this trend will be kept in short terms. Then we discussed four main dynamic factors: internal competition and cooperation and external economy & trade, management policies and modern logistics. To sum up, the concentration index analysis is effective, and it can be replicated to other regional port systems.