Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Professor, Department of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University will teach a 35 hour graduate course titled “Hinterland Transport and Logistics” at the Chongqing University in Chongqing, China.

The course will focus on the inland dimension of port and maritime activities. The growth of maritime shipping is placing pressures on ports to improve the capacity and reliability of hinterland services. Infrastructure investments such as the development of road and rail corridors and a closer integration between the port and its customers are among the main strategies that have been pursued to improve hinterland logistics.

The first part of the course will focus on the technical and commercial changes that have impacted the port hinterland, namely global supply chains and intermodal transportation. It develops the concept of port regionalization and the emergence of large gateways and transport corridors servicing extensive regional markets.

The second part addresses the strategies and policies that have been implemented to improve the logistics performance of hinterlands, including port centric logistics, inland ports and logistics zones. Also discussed are the challenges of port and city integration, and issues pertaining to urban freight distribution, often labeled as the “last mile”.

“Too bad that I will be missing Gen (Giuliano) by a few weeks in the same city in China. Interesting coincidence,” mused Dr. Rodrigue. He was referring to the fact that Professor Giuliano, Director of MetroFreight, will be presenting research on the freight landscape at the 9th IACP Conference: Smart Growth and Sustainable Development in June 2015, also at the Chongqing University.  See MetroFreight Events section for more details.