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Original Article
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Northern Vietnam plays an important role in Vietnam’s national economy. In recent years, the sea-port
Received 10 April 2019 industry in the area has witnessed an impressive development and fierce competition especially among
Received in revised form 26 August 2019 local container terminals. Under the pressure of competition, local container ports are competing through
Accepted 28 August 2019
attractive handling charges. The paper applies a Bertrand-Nash game model to estimate the equilibrium
handling charges and equilibrium market share of each container terminal in the area. The game can be
Keywords:
divided into non-cooperative game and cooperative game. Under the cooperative game, three different
Northern Vietnam
scenarios are considered. The game results will verify the implication of price competition among local
Container terminals
Game theory
container terminals and present the outcome of each coalitional scenario for further discussion.
Handling charges © 2019 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the
CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsl.2019.08.001
2092-5212 © 2019 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc-nd/4.0/).
14 M.D. Nguyen and S.J Kim / The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics 36 (2020) 13–19
The profit of container terminal ‘i’ in Northern Vietnam can be (17) can be substituted to (12) to gain:
defined based on the volume of containers handled as follows:
1 + [b(Qi + 1 − Qi )](pi − ci ) = 0 (18)
˘i = Xi(pi − ci) (7)
Or:
Where:
i is the profit of container terminal i 1
pi = Ci − (19)
ci is the marginal cost per TEU of container terminal i in handling b(Qi + 1 − Qi )
cargo
Before the games are modelled, it is necessary to assume some Eq. (19) is the price response function of container terminal i.
conditions to validate the model:
3.3. Cooperative game
- All the container terminals offer similar services but they are not
exact substitutes to each other. Among all container terminals in Northern Vietnam, there are
- The total demand for the container terminal services of the whole 6 container terminals which are owned by Vinalines with the per-
area is fixed when the handling charge of each terminal changes. centage of share-holding varying from 51% to 100%. They are Chua
- The costs which occur in the same amount like inland transporta- Ve, Tan Cang Dinh Vu, Doan Xa, Dinh Vu, Quang Ninh, and Cai Lan
tion, berthing charge, port charge, and wharf charge, regardless International Container Terminal. However, the two container ter-
of the location of the container terminals, will not be considered minals in Quang Ninh province, including CICT and Quang Ninh,
in the model because the utility model deals with customers’ show a very low level of performance in recent years and will be
behaviour which depends on the difference of cost of service. eliminated. Furthermore, Chua Ve and Tan Cang Dinh Vu are the
- When a terminal reduces its handling charge, users will choose two terminals of Haiphong Port Join Stock Company (HPC). Simi-
to move their containers to this terminal. larly, Nam Hai and Nam Hai Dinh Vu are also operated by the same
- The users’ selection will depend on only the cost while other kinds operator named Gemadept Corporation. Green Port and VIP Green
of conditions or agreements are out of scope. Port are the two container terminals operated by Vietnam Con-
tainer Shipping Join Stock Company (Viconship). Therefore, in a
3.2. Non-cooperative game co-operative game, one can assume some coalitional scenarios as
follows:
Under the non-cooperative game, each container terminal will
compete with others independently to maximize their own profit. Scenario 1: The 4 container terminals of Vinalines cooperate
Therefore, the Bertrand Nash equilibrium can be characterized by together and the other terminals operate independently.
the following condition: Scenario 2: The 4 container terminals of Vinalines cooperate
∂˘i together and the other similar cooperation is set up between Nam
=0 (8) Hai and Nam Dinh Vu, and between Green Port and VIP Green Port.
∂pi
The other terminals work independently.
According to Eqs. (4) and (6): Scenario 3: There are 3 similar coalitions set up between terminals
Xi = XQi = AeLS Qi (9) operated by the same operator. Those coalitions are between Chua
Ve and Tan Cang Dinh Vu, Nam Hai and Nam Hai Dinh Vu, and
Subsequently: Green Port and VIP Green Port.
˘i = AeLS Qi (pi − ci ) (10)
In each case, the objective of the coalition is to maximize the
Therefore, Eq. (8) becomes:
total profit of all the members. This study will consider the scenario
∂˘i ∂[AeLSQi(pi − ci)] 1 first and the other cases are similar in terms of mathematical
= =0 (11)
∂pi ∂pi expression.
Eq. (11) can be differentiated to become: In the scenario 1, the total profit of the 4 members is presented
by Eq. (20) below:
∂(AeLSQi)
AeLS Qi + (pi − ci ) = 0 (12)
∂pi
4
4
Therefore: The average utility, handling charge, and OUC of all container
∂˘ terminals in Northern Vietnam from 2011 to 2016 are presented in
= AeLS Q1 [b(Q1 + 1 − Q1 ](p1 − c1 ) + AeLS Q1 Table 2 as the input of the linear regression.
∂p1
In this table, Eq. (3) is solved by logarithm as follows in order to
+AeLS Q2 [b(Q1 − Q1 ](p2 − c2 ) (24) calculate the utility of each terminal:
+AeLS Q3 [b(Q1 − Q1 ](p3 − c3 )
eUi eUi
+AeLS Q4 [b(Q1 − Q1 ](p4 − c4 ) = 0 Qi = 13 ⇒ ln Qi = ln or
eUi i=1
eUi (30)
Finally:
i=1
Ui = ln Qi + ln i=1
eUi
[b(Q1 + 1 − Q1 ](p1 − c1 ) + 1 + Q2 [b( − 1](p2 − c2 )
(25) Where ln = i=1
eU i is denoted by LS, LS = 15.24
+Q3 [b( − 1](p3 − c3 ) + Q4 [b( − 1](p4 − c4 ) = 0 Here, the total throughput of container terminals in
Northern Vietnam is used as a proxy variable of total
Or:
utility.
p1 = c1 − {1 + Q2 [b( − 1)](p2 − c2 ) + Q3 [b( − 1)](p3 − c3 ) The linear regression analysis returns the value of a as
(26)
15.79 and b as −0.078. The input to solve the game is pre-
+Q4 [b( − 1)](p4 − c4 )}/[b(Q1 + 1 − Q1 ]
sented in Table 3 in Appendix A. The game results of different
A similar transformation is applied to the three other terminals, scenarios are also presented respectively in Tables 4–7 in
and the price response function of those container terminals is as Appendix A.
follows: The calculated results of the non-cooperative and cooperative
p2 = c2 − {1 + Q1 [b( − 1)](p1 − c1 ) + Q3 [b( − 1)](p3 − c3 ) game reveal the following points that one can learn from the case
(27) of container terminals in Northern Vietnam. The current handling
+Q4 [b( − 1)](p4 − c4 )}/[b(Q2 + 1 − Q2 ] charges offered by container terminals in Northern Vietnam are
at a significantly low level than the equilibrium price. This result
p3 = c3 − {1 + Q1 [b( − 1](p1 − c1 ) + Q2 [b( − 1](p2 − c2 )
(28) is conformable with the fact that container terminals in the area
+Q4 [b( − 1)](p4 − c4 )}/[b(Q3 + 1 − Q3 ] are competing fiercely with each other and a common strategy to
attract customers is offering a better price than competitors. Under
p4 = c4 − {1 + Q1 [b( − 1)](p1 − c1 ) + Q2 [b( − 1)](p2 − c2 ) this condition, only foreign shipping lines earn benefit from the
(29)
+Q3 [b( − 1)](p3 − c3 )}/[b(Q4 + 1 − Q4 ] price competition policy and local terminals lose profit which can
be used to reinvest for better performance. This situation is harmful
The other scenarios have similar price response functions. to the local port industry and should be changed. The value of b in
the utility function (Eq. 3.1) which is determined by linear regres-
4. Input parameters and the game results sion also reflects the elasticity of local container terminals’ utilities
to handling charges. In comparison with the b value in other areas,
In order to set the pricing rule by the users, the Nash equilib- the b value in Northern Vietnam is −0.078, the b value in Busan is
rium for the Bertrand game will be implemented. Before that, the −0.046 according to Park and Suh (2015), the b value in Greek Port
necessary parameters are defined. is −0.056 according to Polydoropoulou and Litinas (2007), and the
The parameters ai and b are used in the utility function as b value in port of Karachi, Pakistan is −0.05 according to Saeed and
expressed in Eq. (1). Saeed and Larsen (2010) and Munim, Saeed, Larsen (2010). It implies that the container terminals in Northern
and Larsen (2017) define these parameters by assuming based on Vietnam are more sensitive to change of handling charges than the
personal experience while Park and Suh (2015) use linear regres- mentioned areas. This implication is also confirmable with the cur-
sion to estimate. All the authors consider that a change in terminal rent situation of handling charges in the area. The value of b in the
service charge will not affect the total demand profoundly but case of container terminals in Northern Vietnam also implies that
demand of individual terminals might change. Therefore, the value terminals’ market share can be increased significantly by reduc-
of is quite low and can be assumed by the value (0.01). ing users’ costs. Besides the handling charge, the other user cost
In this research, the value of is fixed by 0.01. In order to deter- is also an important factor that impacts the decision of customers.
mine the ai value, a1 = a2 = a3 = . . . = a14 = a is assumed. The values Investments in improving cargo handling speed, therefore, become
of a and b will be determined by linear regression. critical. In the case of cooperative game, Scenario 1, all the four
Table 2
Input data to estimate parameters a and b.
Terminals Utility Handling charge (USD/TEU) OUC (USD/TEU) Total cost (USD)
container terminals of Vinalines show better results in profit. This minals’ utility which directly impacts the terminals’ market share.
increase of profit is caused by the increase of equilibrium hand- Lach Huyen International Container Terminal is expected to begin
ling charges rather than expansion of throughput. The reason is its operation in a very near future. The competition among con-
because the 2 leading terminals named Tan Vu and Dinh Vu have tainer terminals in the area will be more difficult and, therefore,
already taken full advantage of capacity, and increase in throughput which terminals cannot keep up with the trend will be eliminated.
will return a significant increase in vessels’ waiting cost. The con- Coalition under scenario 1 is a potential scenario that Vinalines’
siderable increase of profit in cooperation game opens a potential terminals can apply to increase all the members’ profit. However,
coalitional strategy to given terminals. It also implies that the two while the equilibrium handling charges and profit increase, the
terminals, Tan Vu and Dinh Vu, have a potential chance of increasing overall market share of Vinalines’ terminals slightly decreases. As
market share and profit if those terminals are invested in to expand a result, not only fixing appropriate level of handling charges, but
the capacity. In addition and in the case of the cooperative game, other policies are also required to increase the utility of those ter-
Scenario 1, not only the four container terminals of Vinalines record minals.
better profit but also all the other container terminals in the area In summary, the paper applies a Bertrand-Nash game model
do the same result. It implies a positive impact of the coalitional to estimate the equilibrium handling charges and equilibrium
strategies of the four terminals to the whole local market. Under market share of each container terminal in the area. The
all the scenarios of coalition, the profit of terminals is higher than game can be divided into non-cooperative game and cooper-
the case where they operate independently. However, among those ative game. Under the cooperative game, the three different
coalitional scenarios, the highest results of equilibrium profit can scenarios are considered. The game results will verify the impli-
be found in Scenario 2, with Scenario 3 and the lowest equilibrium cation of price competition among local container terminals and
profit being found in Scenario 1. This implies that the more play- present the outcome of each coalitional scenario for further
ers join a coalition, the better the results are for all the container discussion.
terminals in the area.
According to the game results, there are some implications Conflict of interest
which can be suggested to related parties. The current handling
charges offered by container terminals in Northern Vietnam are The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
lower than the equilibrium handling charges in case each terminal
competes independently. However, the bargaining power is cur-
rently in the hand of foreign shipping lines and all the terminals
in the area need a representative organization to set the hand-
ling charges at higher level. Vietnam Port Association (VPA) and
Vietnam Maritime Administration (Vinamarine) are organizations Acknowledgement
which should be in charge to issue appropriate policies. In such
case, the equilibrium price in this study can be taken as refer- This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the
ence. Various synchronized policies should be applied by terminal Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea
operators to improve terminals’ services both in the perspective of (NRF-2018S1A6A3A01081098).
shipping lines and shippers. From the perspective of shipping lines,
terminals’ competitive advantages, which should be considered,
are the handling charges, vessels’ facilities and services, and cargo
handling speed, among others. From the perspective of shippers,
the terminals’ competitive advantages, which should be consid- Appendix A.
ered, are cargo value added services, distribution costs, and storage
services, to name some. The general purpose is to increase the ter-
Table 3
Input parameters for the game models.
a 15.79
b −0.078
0.01
Total demand (TEUs) 4,190,000
Terminals Capacity (,000 TEUs) Current market share Current handling charge Marginal cost (USD)
Table 4
The results of non-cooperative game.
Terminals Current market Current handling Eq. market share Eq. handling charge Current Profit (mil Eq. Profit (mil USD)
share charge (USD/TEU) (USD/TEU) USD)
Table 5
The results of cooperative game, Scenario 1.
Terminals Current market Current handling Eq. market share Eq. handling charge Current Profit (mil Eq. Profit (mil USD)
share charge (USD/TEU) (USD/TEU) USD)
Table 6
The results of cooperative game, Scenario 2.
Terminals Current market Current handling Eq. market share Eq. handling charge Current Profit (mil Eq. Profit (mil USD)
share charge (USD/TEU) (USD/TEU) USD)
Table 7
The results of cooperative game, Scenario 3.
Terminals Current market Current handling Eq. market share Eq. handling charge Current Profit (mil Eq. Profit (mil USD)
share charge (USD/TEU) (USD/TEU) USD)