Evaluating the Competitive Position of Port of Douala in Central Africa Regional Ports Market Conduct Using the SSA

This paper aims to analyze the competitive position of Port of Douala in Central African ports market structure. In other words, it consists of measuring port market level and competitiveness through an assessment of their growth rate and market share. The purpose of the paper is to provide us with information on periodical changing status of ports competing with each other. It also provides us with an effective managerial tool to port operators in the assessment of ports market share and position. For doing so, the measurement technique as Shift-Share Analysis was applied in the study by using a panel dataset of the 7 selected ports of Central Africa sub-region from 2008 to 2018. The paper used the recent dynamics and characteristics of port market in terms of port throughputs to compare the yearly trend and market share. By conducting the study of the market growth rate model, the findings showed that the Port of Douala was the top leader of the market in 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2018. The findings also revealed the competitive positions of these ports under study have changed over the period of study due to the significant change of their market share with average growth rates. The final results showed that several determinant factors have affected the present hierarchy of competitiveness level in the selected ports market especially with small and medium size ports that are strengthening their positions vis-a-vis larger ones. However, the results could be used for analyzing the relative efficiency and overall performance of the Central African Sub-regional seaports including the Cameroonian ports.