UNCTAD urges publication of port data

Published in its Review of Maritime Transport 2016, the UNCTAD concluded that with the increased technology in today’s society people and businesses are more likely to be assessed by third parties, and this could be a stimulus for port authorities to share their own data.

It stated: “When companies encounter difficulties in reporting on growth metrics, such a market share, turnover of throughput, they focus on other factors, such as productivity or efficiency.”

“A continued downward pressure in trade may therefore put pressure on ports to be seen as more operationally efficient.”

Therefore, the release of statistics that may not have been previously considered newsworthy or interesting could now be more important.

The publication of third-party data which will be used to assess a ports performance can now be compared or challenged by a port’s own data. This may compel ports to issue their data in order to prevent any negative or wrong interpretations.

It is hoped that if more data was freely available and centrally stored for analysis by researchers, there could be a greater insight into the workings of ports. Which overall could lead to improvements in ports that would help lower transport costs and make international trade cheaper.

The Review of Maritime Transport reported that the port industry has experienced growth in 2015, but at a much lower rate than in 2014.

Largest ports recorded the sharpest declines in growth, but these in part remained positive. While container ports suffered more of a downturn than the overall port sector.