Towards a Better Port Industry

Peter de Langen, one of the AIVP experts, recently published the Book Towards a Better Port Industry with Routledge. We asked Peter to relate some of the insights from his book to the current state of turmoil in the global economy and specifically global value chains and ports. In the book I argue that one main reason for investments without return -for society as well as users- is that decisionmakers often assume ‘business as usual’ while disruptions deeply influence global value chains and the port business ecosystem. The current Covid 19 is clearly a disruption that could not have been foreseen. The immediate impact on global supply chains is huge, with differences between segments. Oil and fuels are obviously deeply impacted as is automotive, while food is less volatile. However, in all likelihood, this crisis will accelerate some trends that were already unfolding. Especially in this environment, a deep understanding of trends and possible scenarios, both discussed in the book, is needed for successful port development. For some ports, the Covid pandemia may be a kind of turning point, in the sense that they develop ports…