To evaluate potential service growth on a regional scale, a West Mediterranean port engaged Moffatt & Nichol to assess hinterland opportunities within the context of a proposed container terminal expansion.
Shareholders were interested in assessing the asset’s service area and the benefits that any future infrastructure expansion could bring to the business, specifically through a point-to-point modelling exercise.
Moffatt & Nichol performed an economic overview focusing on relevant industry indicators and its fluctuations in the past 10 years. The overview focused on the economic performance of the region and its correlation with the respective volumes of the trade lanes that the terminal serves.
To better understand the competitive landscape surrounding the container terminal at the port, Moffatt & Nichol analysed both the inter- and intra-port competitive landscapes, placing special emphasis on the regional players which compete with the port for some of its discretionary hinterland. Moffatt & Nichol defined the road, rail and shipping network serving the port and its main competitors and identified any bottlenecks that limit its competitiveness. Together with information gathered during the stakeholder interviews, Moffatt & Nichol modelled the port’s hinterland to assess the existing captive and discretionary hinterland of the facility and allow a quantification of the potential impacts on terminal performance from the proposed expansion and any new relevant infrastructure developments.
Moffatt & Nichol then undertook scenario building to determine the impact of a potential expansion of neighbouring competitors and the effect that such a development could have on the future volumes of the terminal and its captive hinterland.