American Express and Wells Fargo are large financial institutions that emerged during the 19th century to support the growing interstate trade. Both were set in the 1850s to provide freight forwarding services and a range of financial services such as banking, money orders, and buying and selling gold. These activities
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Restructuring of the contents of the Geography of Transport Systems
I am currently working on the fifth edition of the Geography of Transport Systems textbook, which hopefully will be published by the end of this year (2019). Some chapters have been reordered. The chapter about transportation, economy and society, which used to be chapter 7, is now chapter 3, with
Continue readingThe growth factors of containerization
Updating a page depicting the complex factors behind the growth of containerization. They mainly relate to derived (economic growth), substitution (capture of bulk and break-bulk markets), incidental (trade imbalances) and induced (transshipment) elements. The contribution of each of these factors has not yet been fully assessed.
Continue readingPorts and the emerging manufacturing landscape
Wrote a short article for Semana, which is a weekly magazine in Colombia, read throughout Latin America (in Spanish). Tried to articulate the new relationships between ports and the emerging manufacturing landscape of the fourth industrial revolution. https://www.semana.com/contenidos-editoriales/la-cuarta-oportunidad/articulo/por-que-los-puertos-son-el-escenario-perfecto-para-la-manufactura/592829
Continue readingE-Commerce facilities operated by Amazon in the United States (New page)
The rapid diffusion of e-commerce has resulted in the setting of entirely new specialized distribution facilities. Their footprint is becoming impressive. E-Commerce Facilities Operated by Amazon in the United States, 2018
Continue readingE-Commerce Facilities Operated by Amazon in the United States, 2021
Source: Location data derived from MWPVL International. Amazon has become the largest online retailer in the United States, supported by substantial growth in the distribution facilities that are required to meet the demands for e-commerce in terms of procurement, inventory management, and parcel distribution. As of 2021, Amazon was operating
New York Times Interview – Large Airports in China
I am quoted in an interview from the New York Times about the development of large airport infrastructures in China.
Continue readingTOC Panama conference summary – The challenges of digitalization
Some of the views I expressed about digitalization in ports and maritime shipping at TOC Panama are resumed in this piece. Although digitalization is expected to provide notable benefits, there is some unintended consequences that are worth considering. https://theloadstar.co.uk/downside-carriers-terminals-digital-supply-chain/
Continue readingTEU to GDP Multiplier (update)
I updated the chart depicting the evolution of the multiplier effect between GDP growth and TEU growth. Since the 1990s, the multiplier effect has been declining, particularly since 2009. In recent years, the multiplier has dropped below 1, implying that 1% if GDP growth would be associated with 1% in
Continue readingShort Sea Shipping Network and Finance Model for the Caribbean
The Inter-American Development Bank recently released a report titled “Short Sea Shipping Network and Finance Model for the Caribbean“. While I took part in this project and undertook a good share of the background work, field work in Guyana, and data analysis and interpretation, credits are attributed to the commissioning
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