Conclusions
Of all the alternative journeys between Vientiane and Rotterdam, the routeing
via Port Klang achieves the most competitive costs and transit time with a
reasonable confidence index. It must be noted that in reality, sea freight rates
are not stable and are adjusted for ``peak season’’ surcharge, or other types of
surcharges which may increase the freight rates compared to those obtained
during this study.
The ICDs in Lad Krabang also achieve significantly lower container
handling costs than port terminals. According to Beresford and Savides (1997),
this difference probably occurs because maritime terminals have more
sophisticated handling equipment and more complex infrastructure than
inland multimodal terminals.