An Analysis Of Inland Freight Distribution From Nigerian Seaports

ABSTRACT

This study is designed to examine the cargo traffic from Nigerian seaports, using the Calabar and Port Harcourt port complexes as case study. The objective being to identify the function for assessing cargo movement from the aforementioned seaports to different towns in the country. This culminated in a model depicting the functional relationship which exists between the variables used in the study. A chronological review of related studies by different scholars was carried out to show their various contributions in the area of commodity flow. Secondary data is utilized in this research work which are the volume of goods from the seaports to the respective towns, length of haul between seaports and the towns, population size of the towns which are based on projections from the 2006 National population Census and haulage cost, data covers the period 2010 to 2016. Personal interviews were also conducted with professionals within the freight industry, a regression equation was obtained and tested. The variables were subjected to econometric tests which revealed the absence of multicollinearity, autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity, thus, the significance of the regression equation; a co-efficient of determination of 0.97 was obtained which shows that 97 percent of variation in cargo volume from the seaports is explained by haulage cost, length of haul and population respectively. Interview conducted revealed that market proximity, land availability, government policy and support ,labour supply, state of infrastructures and congestion were also factors affecting freight distribution from the seaports to service towns in Nigeria. Decision makers can use the findings presented for future projections and assess inland freights more effectively.

Keywords: Cargo traffic; Nigeria seaports