Complementarity and substitutability among adjacent gateway ports

The author considers complementarity and substitutability among container ports located in a single gateway region. The level of substitutability from a shipping line's perspective is assessed by means of an analysis of revealed preferences in the port-calling pattern of vessels deployed on different trade routes. The author also identifies and analyzes the factors contributing to levels of port substitutability as perceived by shipping lines. The methodology is applied to the Rhine-Scheldt Delta, a major European multiport gateway region. It is demonstrated that the large load centres in the Delta are increasingly acting as substitutes, while each of the smaller container ports functions more as a complement to one of the large load centres.