Abstract
Port competition concerns fares as well as quality of services, since rates of throughput are more and more important as ships' size increases; and port is increasingly integrated within other stages of intermodal transport. Besides, the growing importance of transhipment causes a segmentation into different markets of port services. The market of hub ports is marked out by a relatively low number of competitors, but also by a highly "footloose" demand, and little or no spatial protection of the market area. On the other hand, the market of feeder ports is characterised by a high number of competitors and a high degree of spatial protection; it is also strongly influenced by inland transport infrastructures. (A)