The development of a national port system - Denmark 1950-1980

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study and describe the development of the Danish port system as an example of how national port systems have developed since the second world war. Before the Danish port system is discussed, concepts and results achieved in geographical port and shipping research are considered as are also relevant studies on the growth of regional systems. The structure of a port system is also described according to what is termed vertical and horizontal sub‑systems and the levels of influence associated with them. From this examination certain conclusions are drawn about the factors and events that should be borne in mind when studying port systems.

The study sets the development of the Danish port system in relation to the physical site of the ports, their administration and economy, Denmark's economic and regional development, its trade policy and innovations in transport technology that affected the system during the period of the study.

First of all, certain sub‑systems based on given types of goods are de­scribed. These sub‑systems cast light on the different functions of the port system and the factors contributing to the development of the sub‑systems. Then the course of the process of concentration in the Danish port system is examined; this is illustrated by means of a suitable index. The consequences of the concentration process are studied partly by ordinal analysis, thus permitting ports and groups of ports that deviate from the overall pattern to be identified and the causes of such deviations to be detected, and partly by a closer analysis of the development of a few central ports and their adaptation to new conditions. The varying composition of the different size categories at different stages of the development process is also described. Finally, a synthesised model of how the Danish port system developed is presented, emphasising the most important characteristics of its development.

The study shows that no real concentration in the system as a whole has in fact taken place. The factors influencing the system's development have led to a greatly increased division of labour at the higher levels of the system and to the emergence of a number of new nodes. This division of labour is associated with transport technology, type of goods and geographi­cal destination. This has meant that the distribution of traffic between the most important ports in the system has undergone a strong process of evening out even though the degree of concentration within the system as a whole has remained more or less unchanged throughout the whole of the period covered by the study.