Concentration evolution of the container throughput on the Mediterranean ports

Abstract

This report presents the analysis of the concentration evolution of the container throughput in the Mediterranean ports from 2.000 to 2.015. Nowadays, the Mediterranean region is not only a completely mature market but also one which presents a strong demand which is likely to continue growing during the following years. In order to examine the level of concentration of the container terminals, different indexes have been used. These are the Concentration Ratios (CR1, CR3 and CR10), the Gini coefficients and Lorenz curve, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and the new Geo-Economic Concentration Index (GECI). The main conclusions derived from this report are the following. Firstly, the total container throughput in the Mediterranean area during the last fifteen years has experienced an impressive growth, from 18.398.741 million TEUs in 2.000 to 46.166.931 million TEUs in 2.015. Secondly, the container throughput concentration has experienced a slight decrease during the first decade of the 2.000s (from a HHI of 0,069 in 2.000 to 0,054 in 2.015) after what it seems to have stabilised around the same values with minor fluctuations. Moreover, the gravity centre of the container traffic of the area has shift from the Western Mediterranean to the Central Mediterranean, especially due to the growth in number of total TEUs and market share of the ports of Ambarli (Turkey) and Port Said (Egypt). Finally, the ports which have experienced the most positive evolution (with an increase of their market share) are the hubs, which involve a larger percentage of transhipment activity.