network-based) importance, of ports for the economy is often framed in terms of the absolute amount of trade flowing through a port, its network characteristics within the maritime transport network (e.g. The criticality, that is the systemic (i.e. For instance, Hurricane Katrina (2005), shutting down major Louisiana ports, led to large disruptions to the global grain supply, resulting in export losses for the United States, which rippled to dependent supply-chains globally and raised commodity prices 13, 14. firm depending on other firms that receive goods from ports). firm directly receiving goods from ports) or indirectly (e.g. Ultimately, trade flows handled at the port serve supply-chains across different hinterlands, either directly (e.g. The 2021 Suez blockage highlighted how a large shock to a specific route within the maritime transport network could affect multiple ports across the globe, and eventually supply-chains depending on these ports 12. containers) while for others this is more decentralised (e.g. For certain commodities this network is known to be more centralised (e.g. Freight demand on the underlying maritime transport network, consisting of maritime routes that connect ports, is determined by the geographical demand for transport services and the network structure of system. On the one hand, this disrupted maritime transport and supply-chains due to factory shutdowns, port closures and labour shortages 9, while on the other hand this led to large trade bottlenecks at many ports due to shifting demand patterns 10. The COVID-19 pandemic, which affected port operations across the world, changed both demand and supply patterns simultanously 8. Hence, relative changes in freight flows reflect changes in trade demand, supply and modal split. On the largest spatial scale, the global trade network, the demand for maritime trade is driven by countries’ demand for trade, those countries supplying this trade, and the share of trade being maritime (i.e. The maritime transport and global supply-chain networks interact with one another on different spatial scales, with recent events illustrating the tight coupling between the two. port closures) to the maritime transport network can have implications for supply-chains across multiple countries and industries 7. new infrastructure investments) or disruptions (e.g. trade composition, supply-chain structure) and the expected freight flows through specific ports 5, 6. With ports supporting the integration of production centres and consumer markets across borders 4, there are large dependencies and feedbacks between changes in the size and structure of the economy (e.g. Maritime transport is considered the backbone of international trade and the global economy 1, 2, 3.
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