That these comparisons may exacerbate the actual difference and thereby exaggerate the handicap suffered by landlocked countries is important. But more importantly, because geographical distance – which cannot be shortened – is only one aspect of the problem, its relative weight should be more accurately assessed. A close look at recently studied transit corridors shows that truck or rail operating costs (ton/km) in both transited and landlocked countries remain very close to
or even lower than global standards or benchmarks in developed countries (UNCTAD, 2013). If carriers’ costs are similar but freight paid by users is much higher than in comparable circumstances in other parts of the world ,then distance per se cannot explain a transport cost of being landlocked showing surpluses of up to 60 per cent and an average of 45 per cent (figure 6.2). In other words ,apart from the distance factor, the difference between the freight costs paid by traders in landlocked and coastal developing countries for an equivalent transport must be due to other factors not associated with the remoteness from the sea. This is precisely one of the relevant
outcomes of the most recent field studies: there are factors other than distance and transport costs that make trade expensive for landlocked developing countries.
These factors must be sought in the environment that surrounds transit operations, and regulatory frameworks are central among them.