Attractiveness of port-centric advanced logistics clusters

This chapter investigates the relationship between port cities and world cities. On the basis of an interlocking network for advanced logistics at European level, the study investigates: a) the attractiveness of cities/regions with a seaport to the location of the largest global third-party logistics (3PL) providers; and b) the correlation between the logistics connectivity (LGNC) of port cities and the physical distance between these port cities and nearby world cities. The econometric analysis highlights that in the case of port cities located very far from world cities they can concentrate advanced logistics function thanks to the impact of variable specialized knowledge centres (transport hubs). In contrast, if there is a world city nearby, it tends to ‘suck up’ the advanced logistics functions. The results suggest that in the case of port cities where advanced logistics has been sucked up by nearby world cities, a collaborative strategy can allow preferential access to skills not directly present, with positive effects for the core activities of both types of city.