UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY

Guest Editors:
Thierry Vanelslander, University of Antwerp
Thomas O'Brien, California State University, Long Beach
Yang Chen, Shanghai Maritime University

The rapid spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 severely affected the logistics industry worldwide, ushering in a new normal which has yet to be understood. For example, two years of lockdowns have left the industry in a challenging situation whereby current logistics infrastructure can not cope with, leading to extreme levels of freight rates, port congestions and other overspends. Academia has made an earnest response to this unprecedented development, analyzing and discussing how COVID-19 is influencing the logistics industry. Cullinane and Haralambides (2021) make a comprehensive review on the pandemic’s impact on the shipping and port sector. They claim that the economic hardships introduced by COVID-19 were the result of an unforeseen external shock rather than a systematic one, as was the case with the global financial crisis of 2009. Verschuur, Koks and Hall (2021) show widespread port-level trade losses, with the largest losses found for ports in China, the Middle-East and Western Europe, associated with the collapse of specific supply-chains. Singh et al. (2021) focus on the pandemic’s impact on the food grain supply chain, indicating that the pandemic has led to difficulties in public distribution systems. Choi (2021) examines the risks related with the logistics systems and identifies research topics and areas during the current COVID-19 pandemic and in the forthcoming post-COVID-19 era.

While noticing that COVID-19 has attracted a lot of attention from academia, the relevance of most of the extant research is reduced by the progress of the epidemic and its far-reaching impacts, leaving us with great opportunities to carefully re-examine the impact of the epidemic on the logistics industry. Furthermore, in consideration of the fundamental and substantial changes brought by COVID-19 to society, a comprehensive understanding of how it influences the logistics industry in the long-term is urgently needed; something that will benefit theoretical development and practical solutions

Full call for papers available here.

Important Dates
Deadline for abstract submission: March 31, 2022
Deadline for original paper submissions: As per IAME2022 instructions
September 14-16, 2022: Paper presentations at IAME2022
MEL-formatted papers, IAME reviews, revisions, submitted: September 30, 2022
MEL reviewers’ feedback: October 31, 2022
Revisions in: December 15, 2022
Final decision (incl. possible second review round) January 31, 2022
Publication: March 2023 at the earliest


CITY-PORT SYMBIOSIS

Guest Editors:
Carola Hein, Delft University of Technology
Maurice Jansen, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Hercules Haralambides, Erasmus University Rotterdam

The special issue focuses on the spatial, social and cultural interconnection of ports, cities and regions. It invites contributions that explore challenges and opportunities of spatial proximity of port territories, urban space and coastal ecosystems considering these transitions: climate change and sea level rise, ecological footprint, resilient infrastructure and sustainable transport and mobility. Furthermore, we encourage contributors to examine and explore inclusive stakeholder arrangements and related institutional and governance in port city regions; Innovation ecosystems and startup communities are emerging that can accelerate transitions.

Full call for papers available here.

Important dates:
October 1, 2021: Full paper submission
November 15, 2021: Feedback to authors
January 15, 2022: Deadline for revised paper submissions
February 15, 2022: Deadline for final, formatted paper submissions
April 15, 2022: Final versions to MEL Office

Notes: This is a tentative schedule and we intend to organize a special session under the same theme during IAME2021 (dates TBA). Papers presented at that session may be considered for inclusion in the special issue at the discretion of the editors. Presenters at the conference who would like to be considered for this opportunity should mention this in their communications with the conference secretariat. The above timeline may have to be synchronized with the IAME2021 paper submission schedule. Also, timing will depend on available publication slots in MEL, but priority will be given to the extent possible.


POST-COVID19 SCENARIOS FOR THE GOVERNANCE OF MARITIME TRANSPORT AND PORTS

Guest Editors:
Olaf Merk, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Jan Hoffmann, UNCTAD
Hercules Haralambides, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne and Dalian Maritime University.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the surface a variety of underlying challenges in the governance of the maritime sector. Governments, ship registries, and shipping firms have been unable to solve the problem of crew changeovers, resulting in crews remaining on ships far beyond their allowed contract length. Competition regulators have been slow to counter the container carriers’ strategy to drive up rates via withdrawal of capacity. Governments have bailed out shipping companies, even those that are heavily indebted or registered in tax havens, thus contributing to moral hazard issues. The COVID-19 crisis has delayed rather than accelerated negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping: five years after the Paris Climate Agreement, IMO is still working on specific short-term measures to reduce emissions, albeit without a long-term solution in sight; this has led the European Parliament to vote to include shipping into the EU-Emissions Trading Scheme. Recent oil spills lead many to the perception that governance arrangements in shipping contribute to diffusing responsibilities and avoiding accountability. Port authorities and competition regulators have to confront stronger shipping alliances and vertical integration along the (global) supply chain.

The mechanisms underlying these manifestations - the open registries; industry consolidation; tailor-made regulations for shipping; and the complexity of multi-level governance frameworks, have to some extent been analysed in the maritime economics literature. As the situation evolves, however, including further digitalization, responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and efforts to decarbonize shipping, more research becomes necessary. What is also missing is a perspective on what governance arrangements for ports and shipping would be desirable and possible going forward. Such a perspective would be helpful to policy-makers who want to improve the record of the shipping industry with regard to efficiency, service quality, societal impact and corporate social responsibility.

Full call for papers available here.

Key Dates:
January 2, 2021: Deadline for abstract submission
May 31, 2021: Deadline for full paper submission
June 30, 2021: Referee reports to authors
July 31, 2021: Revisions returned to editors
August 31, 2021: Editorial decision
Publication: Prioritized, as soon as possible thereafter


If you have any queries, please contact Jan Hoffmann at UNCTAD (jan.hoffmann@unctad.org); Olaf Merk at ITF/OECD (olaf.merk@itf-oecd.org) or Hercules Haralambides at Erasmus University (haralambides@ese.eur.nl).

AUTONOMOUS SHIPPING: IMPLICATIONS FOR MARITIME SUPPLY CHAINS

Guest Editors:
Ziaul Haque Munim, University of South-Eastern Norway
Hercules Haralambides, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne and Dalian Maritime University

Several Autonomous Ship (AS) prototypes have already been developed and successfully tested. The majority of extant AS literature focuses on the technological developments of AS, but studies on the implications of AS for the maritime supply chain are still rare (Munim, 2019). Kretschmann, Burmeister, and Jahn (2017) conclude on the economic feasibility of AS, and Munim (2019) reviews the potential economic, environmental and social benefit of AS. However, the benefits of AS need further in-depth investigation, for any technological advance will have little value if the benefits are not enjoyed by the shipowners. Hence, adaptation barriers to AS is one of the topics worth further investigation. Studies discuss barriers from the regulatory, safety, training, social and human-technology perspective, and some question the commercial feasibility of AS (Hogg & Ghosh, 2016; Kim, Joung, Jeong, & Park, 2020; Ringbom, 2019). Besides, the successful implementation of AS is complex and involves many industrial sectors including engineering, finance, transport and logistics, regulatory authorities, and insurance service providers (Ghaderi, 2020). Therefore, careful exploration of business models and regulatory aspects for AS need attention to overcome the challenges. Also, risk analysis of autonomous shipping and development of port facilities for handling AS has been studied little.

Full call for papers available here.

Key Dates:
December 15, 2020: Deadline for abstract submission.
April 30, 2021: Deadline for full paper submission.
June 15, 2021: Referee reports to authors.
July 15, 2021: Revisions returned to editors.
August 15, 2021: Editorial decision
Publication: As soon as possible thereafter.

If you have any queries, please contact Ziaul Haque Munim.