Why Does Cargo Spend Weeks in African Ports? The Case of Douala, Cameroon

This paper investigates the main factors explaining long container dwell times in African Ports. Using original and extensive data on container imports in the Port of Douala, it seeks to provide a basic understanding of why containers stay on average more than two weeks in gateway ports in Africa while long dwell times are widely recognized as a critical hindrance to economic development. It also demonstrates the interrelationships that exist between logistics performance of consignees, operational performance of port operators and efficiency of customs clearance operations. Shipment level analysis is used to identify the main determinants of long cargo dwell times and the impact of shipment characteristics such as fiscal regime, density of value, bulking and packaging type, last port of call, and region of origin or commodity group on cargo dwell time in ports is tested. External factors, such as performance of clearing and forwarding agents, shippers and shipping line strategies, also play an important role in the determination of long dwell times. Cargo dwell time distribution has many specificities, including broad-tail, high variance or right-censoring, which requires in-depth statistical analysis prior to any design of policy recommendations.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Refas, Salim, Cantens, Thomas
Language:	English
Published:	2011-02-01
Subjects:	ACTION PLAN, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, AIM, BERTH, BEST PRACTICES, BOARD ANNUAL MEETING, BORDER CONTROLS, BOTTLENECKS, BUSINESSES, CARGO, CARGO DWELL TIME, CARGO SYSTEMS, CARGOS, CASH FLOW, CIF, COMMERCE, COMMODITIES, COMMODITY, CONGESTION, CONNECTIVITY, CONSIGNMENT, CONTAINER HANDLING, CONTAINER TERMINALS, CONTAINER TRAFFIC, CONTAINER YARD, CONTAINERIZATION, CONTAINERS, CUSTOMER SERVICE, CUSTOMS, CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION, CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIONS, CUSTOMS AREA, CUSTOMS BROKERS, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE, CUSTOMS CODE, CUSTOMS DECLARATION, CUSTOMS DUES, CUSTOMS DUTIES, CUSTOMS FORMALITIES, CUSTOMS OPERATIONS, CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, DATA ANALYSIS, DATA MINING, DELIVERIES, DEMURRAGE, E-MAIL, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, EFFICIENCY OF CUSTOMS OPERATIONS, ELASTICITY, EQUIPMENT, FORWARDING, FREIGHT, FREIGHT FORWARDERS, IMPORT DOCUMENTS, INSPECTION, INSPECTIONS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INVENTORY, INVENTORY LEVEL, INVENTORY LEVELS, INVENTORY MANAGEMENT, LAND TRANSPORT, LINER SHIPPING, LOGISTICS CHAIN, LOGISTICS COSTS, LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT, LOGISTICS PROVIDERS, LONGER DISTANCES, MANUFACTURING, MARITIME TRANSPORT, MARKET SHARE, MARKET SHARES, NETWORKS, ONE-STOP SHOP, OPEN ACCESS, OPERATING SYSTEM, PACKAGING, PAYMENT OF TAXES, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, PLATFORM PERFORMANCE, PORT AUTHORITY, PORT CHARGES, PORT FACILITIES, PORT OF CALL, PORTS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCT CATEGORY, PRODUCTIVITY, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, RAIL, RESULT, RESULTS, ROUTE, SERVICE PROVIDERS, SHIP TURNAROUND TIME, SHIPMENTS, SHIPPERS, SHIPPING, SHIPPING AGENTS, SHIPPING ROUTES, STANDARDIZATION, STORAGE CAPACITY, STORAGE FACILITIES, SUPPLY CHAIN, TARGETS, TAX, TEMPORARY STORAGE, TIME PERIOD, TONNAGE, TRADE FACILITATION, TRADE LOGISTICS, TRADE PERFORMANCE, TRAFFIC GROWTH, TRAFFIC PATTERNS, TRANSACTION, TRANSIT, TRANSMISSION, TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT FACILITATION, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT MODE, TRANSPORT OPERATIONS, TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION COSTS, TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH, TRANSSHIPMENT, TRIP, TRUCK USE, TRUCKS, USER, USES, VEHICLES, WAITING TIME, WAREHOUSING, WEB,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110208112227 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3332
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