METRANS Researcher Dr. Geraldine Knatz has recently published an article entitled “Seattle-Tacoma Alliance Exemplifies Change in Port Strategy” in the Journal of Commerce, Annual Review & Outlook, Perspective, 2015. In the article, Dr. Knatz identifies two general trends taking hold within the port industry, specifically the “governance and structural changes to make the port region more competitive,” and the movement of “landlord ports … beyond their traditional role to gain or retain market share.”   Knatz argues that increasing port competition will drive more collaboration between ports in the United States and worldwide, and references her own research showing that collaboration which originates from within port organizations is more successful than a top-down approach imposed by organizations outside the port.

Knatz shares the long history of collaboration between the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and points to the cooperation of cargo operations in Seattle and Tacoma as a dramatic example of governance change in the U.S. port industry in decades.  

She adds that “ports face increased financial demands as they leverage to lock in customer business for the long term is diminishing” and cautions that the “ports must respond to shipping lines’ changing business models” to remain effective and competitive.  

Knatz outlook for 2016 is “toward greater integration among ports.”  Her entire article can be read at the Journal of Commerce website:  http://www.joc.com/aro/seattle-tacoma-alliance-exemplifies-change-port-s....

Geraldine Knatz 

Dr. Geraldine Knatz is a Professor of Practice of Policy and Engineering at the University of Southern California, former director of the Port of Los Angeles, and former president of the American Association of Port Authorities and the International Association of Ports and Harbors.  She can be reached at  [email protected].