On 13 March 2017 TRAIL PhD student Ronald Halim successfully defended his PhD thesis ‘Strategic Modeling of Global Container Transport Networks: Exploring the future of port-hinterland and maritime container transport networks’ at Delft University of Technology.

Congratulations Ronald!

Short summary
Uncertainties in global trade patterns due to economic slowdown,
formation of trade agreements or barriers, the development of new
infrastructures or tightening of emission standards will unequivocally
affect the patterns of global freight transport and, as a consequence,
also affect the demand for strategic freight infrastructures such as
ports and hinterland transport networks. One direct consequence
is that policy makers face immense challenges in making robust
policies that can sustain and promote economic development amidst
the various uncertainties. Quantitative models can help policy
makers to take better strategic decisions. This thesis aims to produce
empirically grounded global scale models of freight transport that
can support decision making on freight transport infrastructures such
as ports and intermodal transport networks. We specify, estimate,
validate and apply strategic models for both maritime and hinterland
transport to allow comprehensive analyses on global container
transport networks.