Consolidation of Japan-ASEAN Routes and Its Benefits toward the Hinterland Economies: Based on Network Analysis

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate consolidation/dispersion of West Japan-Southeast Asian routes by network equilibrium analysis. As with the consolidation of the main shipping route to the International Container Strategy Port, there is a movement to consolidate Southeast Asia routes. On the other hand, depending on the region, there is concern that the shipper's utility will decline due to its consolidation. In this paper, we apply network equilibrium analysis of bi-level model to container cargo transportation from West Japan to Vietnam as case study of Southeast Asian container market. Then, we try to analyze the efficiency of cargo transportation and the utility of shippers by simulating the case of concentrating routes to Hanshin Port and the case of distributing.