Intermodal competition changes with changes in technology, economics, and environmental concerns. Trucks and airships are generally considered not to be competitors, but this depends on the distance of haul. The tonne...Intermodal competition changes with changes in technology, economics, and environmental concerns. Trucks and airships are generally considered not to be competitors, but this depends on the distance of haul. The tonne-kilometer cost of trucking rises much more quickly with distance than it does the cost of a cargo airship. At some distance, the two modes are direct substitutes. The costs of the Mexico-Canada refrigerated truck supply chain are compared with the costs of a 100t-lift, electrically-powered airship. The flight characteristics of the Hindenburg Zeppelin are used as a model for a modern cargo airship. The supply chain cost of trucking tomatoes is used to test the theorical proposition. The cost difference works out to about US10￠/kg (5￠/lb) advantage for trucking Mexican tomatoes to Canada. However, this cost disadvantage of the airship could be made up by their vibrationless ride, better air circulation and one-day service versus four days by truck. This alternative form of transportation could have a positive impact on worldwide north-south distribution of food. Airships can overcome trade barriers and distance to open new markets for perishable food exports. In addition, they would reduce the carbon emissions of transport. Canada imports 160,000 refrigerated truckloads of fruits and vegetables by from the southern US and Mexico. With an average driving distance of 3,000 km, these trucks emit 606,000 MT of CO<sub>2</sub> annually. Airships powered by hydrogen fuel cells would have zero-carbon emissions. Markets are not yet incorporating the environmental advantage of airships in any freight comparison, but inevitably this will be important.展开更多
The containerized shipment of freight continues to grow rapidly. This development can be traced to a transformation of bulk and break-bulk service to containerization. Demand has been driven by opportunities to broade...The containerized shipment of freight continues to grow rapidly. This development can be traced to a transformation of bulk and break-bulk service to containerization. Demand has been driven by opportunities to broaden logistical options as well as advantageous freight rates. Logisticians and policy makers are unsure how much more bulk traffic can be converted to containerization, but the trends are evident. Of particular interest is grain. Bulk grain handlers have successfully resisted the conversion of grain shipping to containerization, except on the North American-Asian traffic lanes and the Australian-Asian traffic lanes where growth has been significant. This paper reviews the theoretical case for grain containerization from a logistics perspective, followed by an examination of the current trends in the United States and Canada. Subsequently, the analysis considers the restrictions and resistance to the conversion of grain from bulk shipping to containerization.展开更多
Background:We investigate whether the success of contrarian investment strategies can be attributed to differences in the relative illiquidity of stocks categorized as value investments versus those categorized as gla...Background:We investigate whether the success of contrarian investment strategies can be attributed to differences in the relative illiquidity of stocks categorized as value investments versus those categorized as glamour portfolios.Methods:Following Lakonishok et al.(J Financ 49:1541–1578,1994),we assess the illiquidity characteristics of portfolios that underlie contrarian investment strategies that are based on the level of stock’s book to market.Results:We find strong evidence that those portfolios characterized as value investments are associated with dramatically greater levels of illiquidity than glamour portfolios.We further demonstrate that strategies based on the illiquidity in the year prior to portfolio formation result in return characteristic of ostensibly contrarian strategies.Conclusions:These results suggest that the higher returns associated with contrarian investment strategies are the result of the higher illiquidity associated with value portfolios and represent compensation that the investor receives for accepting illiquidity.They also suggest that researchers should be cautious before attributing apparent anomalies to behavior-driven expectational errors rather than to other attributes unrelated to behavior,such as illiquidity.展开更多
The advance of transportation technology depends on science and economics. During the 1930s, airships and airplanes competed head-to-head for the Atlantic passenger market. When World War 2 broke out, everything chang...The advance of transportation technology depends on science and economics. During the 1930s, airships and airplanes competed head-to-head for the Atlantic passenger market. When World War 2 broke out, everything changed. Over the next five years, the combined combatants built over half of a million military airplanes. By the end of the war, four-engine, high-altitude bombers and jet engines were developed. Further investment in airplane technology was stimulated by the Cold War. All this public investment was adapted to civilian passenger jet airplanes. By 1980, dedicated jet airplanes were in use as cargo carriers. Despite the growth of the cargojet market over the past three decades, rising fuel costs and environmental concerns are changing the economics of airships and airplanes again. Investment in large cargo airships is returning. Much of the technology developed for fixed-wing aircraft can be applied to cargo airships. New materials, better engines, control systems and engineering eliminate the need for large ground crews and improve airship reliability and safety. However, two fundamental design issues have yet to be resolved: structural integrity and buoyancy control. A worldwide competition is underway on three continents to develop the dominant design for a cargo airship. This paper examines the alternative design approaches and presents the status of the international competition.展开更多
文摘Intermodal competition changes with changes in technology, economics, and environmental concerns. Trucks and airships are generally considered not to be competitors, but this depends on the distance of haul. The tonne-kilometer cost of trucking rises much more quickly with distance than it does the cost of a cargo airship. At some distance, the two modes are direct substitutes. The costs of the Mexico-Canada refrigerated truck supply chain are compared with the costs of a 100t-lift, electrically-powered airship. The flight characteristics of the Hindenburg Zeppelin are used as a model for a modern cargo airship. The supply chain cost of trucking tomatoes is used to test the theorical proposition. The cost difference works out to about US10￠/kg (5￠/lb) advantage for trucking Mexican tomatoes to Canada. However, this cost disadvantage of the airship could be made up by their vibrationless ride, better air circulation and one-day service versus four days by truck. This alternative form of transportation could have a positive impact on worldwide north-south distribution of food. Airships can overcome trade barriers and distance to open new markets for perishable food exports. In addition, they would reduce the carbon emissions of transport. Canada imports 160,000 refrigerated truckloads of fruits and vegetables by from the southern US and Mexico. With an average driving distance of 3,000 km, these trucks emit 606,000 MT of CO<sub>2</sub> annually. Airships powered by hydrogen fuel cells would have zero-carbon emissions. Markets are not yet incorporating the environmental advantage of airships in any freight comparison, but inevitably this will be important.
文摘The containerized shipment of freight continues to grow rapidly. This development can be traced to a transformation of bulk and break-bulk service to containerization. Demand has been driven by opportunities to broaden logistical options as well as advantageous freight rates. Logisticians and policy makers are unsure how much more bulk traffic can be converted to containerization, but the trends are evident. Of particular interest is grain. Bulk grain handlers have successfully resisted the conversion of grain shipping to containerization, except on the North American-Asian traffic lanes and the Australian-Asian traffic lanes where growth has been significant. This paper reviews the theoretical case for grain containerization from a logistics perspective, followed by an examination of the current trends in the United States and Canada. Subsequently, the analysis considers the restrictions and resistance to the conversion of grain from bulk shipping to containerization.
文摘Background:We investigate whether the success of contrarian investment strategies can be attributed to differences in the relative illiquidity of stocks categorized as value investments versus those categorized as glamour portfolios.Methods:Following Lakonishok et al.(J Financ 49:1541–1578,1994),we assess the illiquidity characteristics of portfolios that underlie contrarian investment strategies that are based on the level of stock’s book to market.Results:We find strong evidence that those portfolios characterized as value investments are associated with dramatically greater levels of illiquidity than glamour portfolios.We further demonstrate that strategies based on the illiquidity in the year prior to portfolio formation result in return characteristic of ostensibly contrarian strategies.Conclusions:These results suggest that the higher returns associated with contrarian investment strategies are the result of the higher illiquidity associated with value portfolios and represent compensation that the investor receives for accepting illiquidity.They also suggest that researchers should be cautious before attributing apparent anomalies to behavior-driven expectational errors rather than to other attributes unrelated to behavior,such as illiquidity.
文摘The advance of transportation technology depends on science and economics. During the 1930s, airships and airplanes competed head-to-head for the Atlantic passenger market. When World War 2 broke out, everything changed. Over the next five years, the combined combatants built over half of a million military airplanes. By the end of the war, four-engine, high-altitude bombers and jet engines were developed. Further investment in airplane technology was stimulated by the Cold War. All this public investment was adapted to civilian passenger jet airplanes. By 1980, dedicated jet airplanes were in use as cargo carriers. Despite the growth of the cargojet market over the past three decades, rising fuel costs and environmental concerns are changing the economics of airships and airplanes again. Investment in large cargo airships is returning. Much of the technology developed for fixed-wing aircraft can be applied to cargo airships. New materials, better engines, control systems and engineering eliminate the need for large ground crews and improve airship reliability and safety. However, two fundamental design issues have yet to be resolved: structural integrity and buoyancy control. A worldwide competition is underway on three continents to develop the dominant design for a cargo airship. This paper examines the alternative design approaches and presents the status of the international competition.
