Centrality in global shipping network basing on worldwide shipping areas

Port and maritime studies dealing with containerization have observed close correlation between global liner shipping and world trade, and centrality in global shipping network (GSN) may change as the situation of world economy and trade changes. Meanwhile, the influence that shipping areas have on the GSN is much greater than any single port, and connections between these shipping areas affect the structure of the GSN. This paper wishes to understand the dynamic changing of the centrality in the GSN during the period from 2001 to 2012, which sees both booms and depressions in world economy and liner shipping. The paper divides global shipping into 25 areas from geographical perspective, and presents an analysis of each shipping area’s position in the GSN through indicators of centrality. The results reveal that to a large extent Europe is always in the center of the GSN from 2001 to 2012, but its central position is declining. Additionally, mapping the centrality distribution of those shipping areas in the latest year confirms their current positions in the GSN. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.