Logistics Cities in Peripheral Areas
Abstract
Pretorius, M (2013), Logistics Cities in Peripheral Areas, PhD thesis, Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State.
Background and problem statement
Trade competition between regions and countries has increased significantly in recent years. This increase is mainly due to increasing levels of globalisation, the rapid development of transport technology and the enlargement, worldwide, of markets (Capineri and Leinbach, 2006; Leinbach and Bowen, 2005). International trade liberalisation and the composition of global production chains have changed the geographical location of supply and distribution facilities, which, in turn, facilitate the development of technologies that accompany the globalisation of logistics (Du and Bergqvist, 2010). As a result, the favourable location of a region in terms of the connectivity of one economy to another in respect of sourcing and distribution has been seen to play an important role in determining a particular region’s ability to participate in emergent globalisation opportunities (Sengpiehl, 2010). Thus, the logistical setup and the associated global connectivity of any region and of its related industries, requires a significant review of the way in which many regions especially peripheral regions interface with world markets.
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