Dry Ports and Sustainable Futures

Dear Colleagues,

During the last decade, the concept of dry ports has gained considerable attention from researchers and practitioners around the world. For instance, today there are more than 100 papers in various research databases compared to only two in 2007.

Increase in commodities by sea transport implies an almost proportional increase in the inland transport flow task. With the growing containerization of maritime products, an increased efficiency of rail and the flexibility offered by road haulage are both needed for the hinterland access to/from seaports. Thus, a functional seaport inland access system is essential for the efficiency of the whole logistical chain. Environmental problems related to the transport sector have received increasing attention by researchers and policy makers, which includes the role that the logistics system can play in reducing environmental impacts.

A dry port as an element in the transport chain that facilitates a shift of containers from road to rail could help tackle the problem of dysfunctional inland access, and thereby lower environmental effects in the region, and reduce road congestion from the seaport-generated traffic activities. Moreover, a dry port could contribute to regional development once implemented in an area through the attraction of new industries. Dry ports appear in variety of forms, arrangements and under different terms around the world and differ in location, maturity level, ownership and initiation processes. However, logistics concepts, especially dry ports, have not been extensively researched in the role of decreasing environmental impacts.

Therefore, it would be of interest to find out on how different elements of that diversity in dry ports across the world influence sustainability—in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish high-quality papers addressing emerging sustainability issues related to dry ports. Original and high-quality research fitting the Special Issue’s theme that have neither been published nor are currently under review by other journals is welcome to be submitted. Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subject to a peer-review procedure and careful editorial scrutiny.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Violeta Roso
Prof. Dr. John Black
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.