After the Industrial Revolution the port as a transport centre for international trade began
facing challenges to its predominant status. Other transport modes, particularly air and rail
were used increasingly for long distance trade (Porter, 1998). For instance, high value goods
as well as small and light manufactured products are usually transported by air. Hence, in
some regions logistic activity has tended to shift from its traditional location around central
areas within port and rail linkages, to peripheral locations where airport and road linkages
were easier (Rodrigue, 2004). We then observe that the relationship between a port and its
region has been characterized by many changes. The standardized iron container, used
increasingly since the 1960s, is a maritime innovation that has been able to handle the
burgeoning growth in the shipping industry, using less human labor (Hoyle and Hilling, 1984;
Martin et al. 2001). However, the port with a larger volume of containers whose contents is