Goods transactions

International container movements

The incorporation of containers into multimodal transport systems is still undeveloped in Pacific Asia because of poor infrastructural facilities in China, Indonesia, and Thailand, and protectionism in Korea and Taiwan. Shipping, therefore, is the key support to physical distribution within Pacific Asia. To appreciate the complexities of interactions between world cities, an understanding of hub/feeder operating structures is necessary. Most cities are located within close proximity to each other and can be reached within two or three days- a 10-day voyage being the extreme case (table 3.11). There are, however, problems in discussing container movements by sea between world cities. Not only are several world cities not maritime centres, but data on origin and destination by ports are not available. There are, however, estimated country data for container movements on individual shipping routes within Pacific Asia in both 1983 and 1991 (though the figures are not strictly comparable).

Table 3.9 The value of trade Pacific Asian countries, 1983 (US$ million)

	Ind	Sin	Mal	Thai	Phil	Taiw	HK	Chin	Jpn	Kor	Total
Ind	-	3,128	58	49	242	220	182	27	9,678	327	13,911
Sin	3,465	-	3,843	944	421	325	1,482	213	2,008	457	13,158
Mal	59	3,182	-	578	163	350	245	157	2,782	661	8,177
Thai	120	518	285	-	68	63	317	107	960	91	2,529
Phil	30	139	162	20	-	74	158	22	948	149	1,702
Taiw	429	713	224	264	246	-	1,648	0	2,498	222	6,244
HK	598	926	215	242	378	178	-	2,495	966	380	6,378
Chin	49	567	186	195	143	0	5,797	-	4,517	0	11,454
Jpn	3,552	4,449	2,772	2,508	1,744	5,081	2,383	4,918	-	6,005	33,412
Kor	252	537	226	218	180	150	817	0	3,383	-	5,763
Total	8,554	14,159	7,971	5,018	3,585	6,441	13,029	7,939	27,740	8,292	102,728

Source: International Economic Data Bank, Australian National University.

Abbreviations: lnd - Indonesia; Sin - Singapore; Mal - Malaysia; Thai - Thailand; Phil - Philippines; Taiw - Taiwan; HK - Hong Kong; Chin - China; Jpn - Japan; and Kor - South Korea.

Table 3.10 The value of trade between Pacific Asian countries, 1989 (US$ million)

	Ind	Sin	Mal	Thai	Phil	Taiw	HK	Chin	Jpn	Kor	Total
Ind	-	1,809	210	238	143	709	529	534	9,252	907	14,331
Sin	415	-	6,110	2,465	663	891	2,823	1,199	3,828	866	19,260
Mal	1,038	4,948	-	615	325	890	770	481	4,016	1,254	14,337
Thai	161	1,423	577	-	103	392	761	527	3,398	299	7,641
Phil	57	217	100	157	-	241	302	50	1,581	160	2,865
Taiw	932	1,975	693	1,107	775	-	7,030	0	9,086	1,134	22,732
HK	567	2,158	516	2,158	812	777	-	18,817	4,525	1,915	32,245
Chin	208	1,643	332	477	359	0	22,003	-	8,180	0	33,202
Jpn	3,288	9,199	4,107	6,811	2,370	16,097	11,472	8,477	-	16,491	78,312
Kor	626	1,499	512	717	464	1,247	3,352	0	13,167	-	21,584
Total	7,292	24,871	13,157	14,745	6,014	21,244	49,042	30,085	57,033	23,026	246,509

Source: international Economic Data Bank, Australian National University.
Abbreviations: Ind - Indonesia; Sin - Singapore; Mal - Malaysia; Thai - Thailand; Phil - Philippines; Taiw - Taiwan; HK - Hong Kong; Chin - China;
Jpn - Japan: and Kor - South Korea.

Table 3.11 Distance and voyage time of ax-Shanghai and ex-Kobe voyages to major Asia-Pacific ports, 1989 (voyage speed It knots)

Port	Ex-Shanghai distance (nautical miles)	Days	Ex-Kobe distance (nautical miles)	Days
Hong Kong	823	2.9	1,387	4.8
Jakarta	2,519	8.7	3,034	10.5
Keelung	419	1.5	926	3.2
Kobe	787	2.7	-	-
Pusan	493	1.7	623	2.1
Singapore	2,181	7.6	2,699	9.4
Shanghai	-	-	787	2.7
Yokohama	1,039	3.6	362	1.3

Source: Yamada (1989:7).

In 1983, container movements in Pacific Asia amounted to 2.7 million TEU (i.e. 5.4 million TEU as containers are handled twice, once at each end of the route) (NMCL, 1985). Total traffic only is given for individual routes (i.e. there is no breakdown by origin and destination). When flows over 100,000 TEU are mapped, a dominant network involving Japan and the newly industrializing economies is evident (Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore) - a reflection of high volumes of components being manufactured in different countries and being transported to a single destination for final assembly (fig. 3.4). Thailand, the Philippines, and the USSR featured as out-liers of this network, but China, Indonesia, and Malaysia did not figure prominently.

A major difficulty in interpreting this pattern of regional integration is that it comprises both: (a) intraregional movements carried by 100 major short-sea container lines within Pacific Asia (57 per cent); and (b) feeder flows to mainline deep-sea services (43 per cent) involving European and trans-Pacific markets (table 3.12). The three top intraregional routes of around 200,000 TEU included Japan - Taiwan, Japan-South Korea, and Japan-Hong Kong. These figures underlined Japan's pivotal importance as an intraregional force. Apart from high-intensity feeder routes, such as Japan-Korea and Singapore-Thailand, most container lines operated multi-port itineraries, with double or triple calls at a centre to assemble cargo. Many of the flows within Pacific Asia, however, were still made up of break-bulk rather than containerized cargo. Four flows of around 100,000 TEU accounted for 40 per cent of all feeder traffic to Europe and North America: Japan-South Korea, Singapore-Thailand, Taiwan-Philippines, and Japan-USSR. These covered the main lines (e.g. Sea-Land, American President Line, Maersk, Scan Dutch, and Evergreen Line) using a mix of direct line-haul calls, dedicated feeder vessels, and common carriers.

Fig. 3.4 Container movements between countries in Pacific Asia, 1983 (Source: NMCL, 1985)

Table 3.12 Container flows flows Pacific Asia, 1983

Route	Feeder		Intra-regional		Total
	'000 TEU	Per cent	'000 TEU	Per cent	'000 TEU	Per cent
Japan-South Korea	140	12.0	210	13.6	350	12.9
Japan-Taiwan	30	2.6	250	16.2	280	10.3
Japan-Hong Kong	60	5.1	190	12.3	250	9.2
Hong Kong-Taiwan	60	5.1	150	9.7	210	7.8
Singapore-Thailand	130	11.1	22	1.4	152	5.6
Taiwan-Philippines	110	9.4	38	2.5	148	5.5
Japan-Singapore	28	2.4	100	6.5	128	4.7
Singapore-Hong Kong	37	3.2	87	5.7	124	4.6
Japan-USSR	95	8.1	10	0.7	105	3.9
Other	480	41.0	483	31.4	963	35.5
Total	1,170	100.0	1,540	100.0	2,710	100.0

Source: NMCL (1985).

The importance of feeder container services for the port-shipping systems of world cities in the early 1980s is shown in figure 3.5. By then the hubs for mainline services were: Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), important for Far East/Europe trades; Singapore and Hong Kong, the traditional entrepôts; Kaohsiung, which had just emerged to challenge Hong Kong as a mainline location for some trans-Pacific operators involved in the development of West Coast United States ports and landbridge access to Mid-Western and Gulf markets; Pusan, which previously had strong feeder links to Hong Kong and Japan, and had been a major hub since 1979; and Kobe-Osaka and Tokyo-Yokohama, which dominated port activities in Japan (Robinson, 1985, 1989, 1991). Both Japan and Hong Kong had strong feeder links with the Soviet ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny, which offered important multimodal and landbridge links to Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railway. The other ports included: Bangkok, which was limited by draft and length restrictions on vessels negotiating the Chao Phraya River, and had strong connections with both Singapore and Hong Kong; Jakarta's Tanjung Priok and Manila, which were still essentially feeder ports though they had aspirations for mainline services; and the Chinese ports, which were just receiving their first container vessels.

Fig. 3.5 Short-sea and deep-sea shipping services in Pacific Asia during the early 1980s (Source: Robinson, 1991)

Between 1983 and 1991, Pacific Asian world cities were part of the world's fastest-growing container market. Spurred by the globalization of manufacturing, an annual growth rate of 10 per cent was experienced. In 1991, Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) estimated 3 million TEU were generated within the region - a figure larger than the Far East-Europe trade and on a par with the eastbound trans-Pacific trade (PDI, 1991). When these container movements are mapped by routes in figure 3.6, the strong links between Japan and the newly industrializing economies can be seen to have persisted. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have been incorporated into the main network, with the second wave of manufacturing stemming from the movement of capital from Japan and the NIEs to lower-cost resource locations. China and the Philippines, however, did not have annual flows in excess of 60,000 TEU, though forecasts suggest a marked upsurge in their trade between Pacific Asian world cities.

The main backbone route was between Japan and Singapore. Most two-way routes, however, comprised both local and feeder cargoes and had not reached the point where the volume attracted large operators on a long-term basis or justified them as independent trades (table 3.13). On balance, Korea, Japan, and Singapore were "sources" (i.e. outflows exceeded inflows). Conversely, the other economies - Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand - figured as "sinks" (i.e. inflows exceeded outflows). No data are available for routes including rapidly growing markets in southern China and Viet Nam.

Given the huge potential for trade between Pacific Asia's emerging world cities, shipping lines have flooded routes with surplus capacity, driving rates below the costs of providing the service - a phenomenon that has prompted a search for a mechanism to stabilize the market (Yamada, 1989). An uneven demand throughout the year makes the trade very difficult to manage. Total cargo on the Japan-Bangkok route does not exceed 10,000 TEU per month, but Japanese Lines deploy that capacity each week and have to compete with other mainline carriers (American President Line, Maersk, and Sea-Land), dedicated end-to-end intraregional carriers (Singapore's Pacific International Line and Regional Container Line, Taiwan's Cheng Lie Navigation and Wan Hai Steamship Company), and wayport operators. With such a diverse carrier base it is not surprising that rates between Japan and Singapore in 1991 were US$800 per TEU - the same as in 1983. The importance of the unstructured intraregional trade, however, should not be overestimated because it comprises raw materials to be transformed into products for shipment to the United States and Europe. Despite its growth it is still largely an auxiliary trade whose final customers are in North America and Europe.

Fig. 3.6 Container movements between countries in Pacific Asia, 1991 (Source: PDI, 1991)

Table 3.13 Estimated monthly movements of containers within Pacific Asia, 1991

	Destination
Origin	Jpn	Kor	Taiw	HK	Phil	Sin	Mal	Thai	Ind	Totala
Jpn	-	11,800	14,500	15,000	1,700	14,000	5,000	9,000	6,500	77,500
Kor	16,300	-	2,900	6,900	1,200	1,600	600	1,200	2,100	32,800
Taiw	10,500	2,600	-	6,500	1,800	4,500	1,800	2,000	4,500	34,200
HK	10,000	3,300	5,000	-	2,300	13,000	1,300	1,500	4,200	40,600
Phil	2,400	500	700	900	-	600	100	100	300	5,600
Sin	20,000	1,000	9,500	11,000	1,000	-	8,500	8,500	4,000	63,500
Mal	2,700	800	1,200	2,100	300	600	-	300	400	8,400
Thai	7,500	500	2,000	2,500	200	2,000	200	-	200	15,100
Ind	4,400	700	1,400	1,400	150	350	350	250	-	9,000
Totala	73,800	21,200	37,200	46,300	8,650	36,650	17,850	22,850	22,200	286,700

Source: PDI (1991:A4).
Abbreviations: Jpn - Japan; Kor - Korea; Taiw - Taiwan; HK - Hong Kong; Phil - Philippines; Sin - Singapore; Mal - Malaysia; Thai - Thailand; and Ind -Indonesia.
a. The totals have been amended from the original.

Shipping line strategies coupled with economic growth have sparked marked port development in and around world cities. Like Kaohsiung, Hong Kong has extension plans at Tsing Yi and Lantau, and Singapore at Pulau Brani, to enhance their superhub status derived from their manufacturing bases and pivotal locational positions in shipping line itineraries. In South Korea, the new port of Kwangyang will offer Seoul an alternative outlet to the Port of Pusan, which handled 2.4 million TEU in 1989 - one-third above its design capacity. In Thailand, the addition of Laem Chabang, located some 130 km south-east of Bangkok, is designed to relieve the capital's congested port of Klong Toey, which handles over 1 million TEU annually - though the newcomer is having difficulty in attracting shipping lines. Finally, there is a glut of expansion projects at lesser ports, such as Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Manila, Shanghai, Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), and Tianjin (Beijing), which have been designed to attract cargo previously handled by the ports of neighbouring world cities.

This last set of ports is poised to take advantage of foreign investment in national economies and of schemes for deregulation and privatization (e.g. by allowing the entry of foreign carriers into Indonesia's protected markets and by allowing the private sector to run Manila's and Laem Chabang's wharves). A counter to the concentration of activity on emerging world cities is aid from international funding agencies to develop regional ports (e.g. Johore and Penang in Malaysia, Surabaya and Belawan in Indonesia). Although these may attract bulk cargoes, there are few signs of a marked decentralization of containerized cargoes from the superhubs. As the national economies sustaining the world cities shift from resource-based activities to manufacturing, it will be necessary to provide cargo centres at airports to handle higher-valued goods. Already this has been reflected in an increase in sea-air cargoes (e.g. from Japan to Hong Kong and Taiwan by sea and to Bangkok and other points in South-East Asia by air).

International air freight

Attention in discussing international air freight is focused on distances between Pacific Asia's world cities (table 3.14). The longest leg between world cities is 5,795 km between Jakarta and Tokyo, and the shortest is 300 km between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Hong Kong is the network's pivot because it has the shortest total distance to all other centres. A major difference in studying international air freight interactions between Pacific Asia's world cities compared with shipping, however, is that the quality of transport - punctuality, service frequency, and cargo collection and delivery - is the key. Time is more important than distance. To meet this desideratum, just-in-time systems are being adopted within the region assisted by:

(a) the pluralization of carriers (e.g. the introduction of Nippon Cargo Airlines);

(b) the development of new airports to overcome limited airport capacity created by service expansion (most marked in Japan where work is proceeding on the second phase of the New International Airport at Narita, the construction of the new Kansai International Airport, and the seaward expansion of Tokyo International Airport at Haneda); and

(c) changes in the structure of the air freighting industry in an attempt to upgrade general cargo and express services through merger (e.g. Federal Express and Flying Tigers, the heavyweight cargo airline), investment (e.g. Japanese Airlines investment with Lufthansa in DHL), and development of comprehensive air cargo information systems for logistics control.

Table 3.14 Air distances between Pacific Asian cities (km)

	JAK	SIN	KUL	BKK	MNL	TPE	HKG	SHA	BJS	OSA	TKO	SEL
JAK	-	560	1,190	2,335	2,780	3,900	3,270	4,480	5,255	n.a.	5,795	5,355
SIN	560	-	330	1,445	2,460	3,245	2,585	3,800	4,575	n.a.	5,330	4,670
KUL	1,190	330	-	1,205	2,485	3,340	2,535	3,750	4,525	n.a.	5,335	4,620
BKK	2,335	1,445	1,205	-	2,200	2,520	1,715	2,685	3,305	n.a.	4,615	3,700
MNL	2,780	2,385	2,485	2,200	-	1,175	1,130	2,460	3,120	n.a.	3,015	2,625
TPE	3,900	3,245	3,340	2,520	1,175	-	805	2,020	2,795	n.a.	2,125	1,475
HKG	3,270	2,585	2,535	1,715	1,130	805	-	1,215	1,990	n.a.	2,905	2,085
SHA	4,480	3,800	3,750	2,685	2,460	2,020	1,215	-	1,080	n.a.	1,805	2,200
BJS	5,255	4,575	4,525	3,305	3,120	2,795	1,990	1,080	-	n.a.	2,115	2,585
OSA	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	-	n.a.	n.a.
TKO	5,795	5,330	5,355	4,615	3,015	2,125	2,905	1,805	2,115	n.a.	-	1,195
SEL	5,355	4,670	4,620	3,700	2,625	1,475	2,085	2,200	2,585	n.a.	1,195	-

Source: Besser (1991:552).
Abbreviations: JAK - Jakarta; SIN - Singapore; KUL - Kuala Lumpur; BKK - Bangkok; MNL - Manila; TPE - Taipei; HKG - Hong Kong; SHA Shanghai; BJS -Beijing; OSA - Osaka; TKO - Tokyo; and SEL - Seoul.

These developments have to be borne in mind when looking at changes in international freight movements between pairs of Pacific Asia's emerging world cities, and movements intended to make greater use of local airports outside their borders.

Statistics from ICAO permit an examination of scheduled air freight interactions and linkages between pairs of world cities for both 1983 and 1990. No distinction is made, however, between different market segments -express (next day guaranteed delivery), comprising small packages that are highly service sensitive, general cargo (second day delivery), comprising large items that tend to be price sensitive, and the traditional 72-hour airport-to-airport service. Nevertheless, information on air freight is available for both calendar and financial years and the data used refer to the year ending 31 March in each year. In analysing the tabulated data the strategy is to assess the degree to which cargo is concentrated on the "top five" airports. Then attention is focused on interpreting maps showing dominant unidirectional flows in excess of 10,000 tonnes. Interest is also centred on the net balance between inward and outward cargoes to determine the prime "sources" and "sinks" in the world's fastest-growing air cargo network.

Table 3.15 Origin and destination of air freight within Pacific Ada, 1983

	Origin		Destination
City	Tonnes	Per cent	Tonnes	Per cent
Jakarta	6,615	1.6	5,985	1.4
Singapore	41,285	9.7	61,151	14.4
Kuala Lumpur	10,170	2.4	15,317	3.6
Bangkok	44,310	10.5	24,607	5.8
Manila	14,657	3.5	19,739	4.7
South-East Asia	117,037	27.7	126,799	29.9
Taipei	76,621	18.1	29,246	6.9
Hong Kong	87,883	20.7	79,425	18.7
Shanghai	430	0.1	667	0.2
Beijing	523	0.1	2,602	0.6
Osaka	18,089	4.3	23,952	5.7
Tokyo	84,520	19.9	111,475	26.3
Seoul	38,658	9.1	49,595	11.7
East Asia	306,724	72.3	296,962	70.1
Pacific Asia	423,761	100.0	423,761	100.0

Source: ICAO (1984).

In 1983, 423,761 tonnes were moved between world cities in Pacific Asia. The "top five" world cities generated almost 79 per cent of the air cargo. Hong Kong was the major generator, with 21 per cent of the total, closely followed by Tokyo (20 per cent) and Taipei (18 per cent), with a marked gap to Bangkok (11 per cent) and Singapore (10 per cent) (table 3.15). Seoul (9 per cent), however, was almost on a par with Singapore and Bangkok. Under 5 per cent were Osaka, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta, with Beijing and Shanghai making a negligible contribution. The "top five" destinations for air freight accounted for 78 per cent of the total. The composition of the "top five," however, was different, with Tokyo the recipient of more than one-quarter of all flows. It was followed by Hong Kong (19 per cent), Singapore (14 per cent), Seoul (12 per cent), and Taipei (7 per cent). The other significant destinations were Osaka (6 per cent), Bangkok (6 per cent), and Manila (5 per cent), and, to a lesser extent, Kuala Lumpur (4 per cent) and Jakarta (1 per cent). The Chinese world cities, however, were insignificant.

Fig. 3.7 Air cargo movements between world cities in Pacific Asia, 1983 (Source: ICAO, 1984)

When the major routes are mapped, the intensity of interaction between Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong is highlighted - a repetition of the strong linkages evident in container movements in the same year (fig. 3.7). The other world cities tied to the network, albeit by smaller masses of cargo, are Bangkok, Osaka, and Singapore. Beijing, Manila, and Shanghai did not have any connections in excess of 10,000 tonnes. The major "source" in the network was the Taipei-Hong Kong-Bangkok axis. Tokyo figured as the major "sink," followed by Singapore and Seoul.

Table 3.16 Origin and destination of air freight within Pacific Asia, 1990

	Origin		Destination
City	Tonnes	Per cent	Tonnes	Per cent
Jakarta	37,540	2.8	23,140	1.7
Singapore	164,380	12.1	181,164	13.4
Kuala Lumpur	44,651	3.3	36,274	2.7
Bangkok	132,232	9.8	73,895	5.4
Manila	40,863	3.0	31,836	2.3
South-East Asia	419,666	31.0	346,309	25.5
Taipei	172,031	12.7	116,593	8.6
Hong Kong	227,911	16.8	199,046	14.7
Shanghai	4,464	0.3	1,045	0.1
Beijing	2,314	0.2	1,815	0.1
Osaka	61,345	4.5	79,517	5.9
Tokyo	214,450	15.8	344,089	25.4
Seoul	253,382	18.7	267,149	19.7
East Asia	935,897	69.0	1,009,254	74.5
Pacific Asia	1,355,563	100.0	1,355,563	100.0

Source: ICAO (1991).

By 1990, a marked change had occurred, with the total air cargo being handled increasing to almost 1.4 million tonnes - an annual increase of almost 37 per cent (table 3.16). The degree of concentration had lessened as the "top five" accounted for 76 per cent of the total a 3 per cent decline since 1983. Also, there had been changes in the importance of individual world cities, with Seoul (19 per cent) generating most traffic - more than double its share in 1983. It was followed by Hong Kong (17 per cent), Tokyo (16 per cent), Taipei (13 per cent), and Singapore (12 per cent). The only other world city challenging for inclusion in the "top five" was Bangkok (10 per cent) as there was no other centre above 5 per cent. On the other hand, the "top five" destinations were responsible for almost 82 per cent - a 4 per cent increase on the 1983 figure. Tokyo was still the major destination (25 per cent), with Seoul (20 per cent) the nearest challenger followed by Hong Kong (15 per cent), Singapore (13 per cent), and Taipei (9 per cent). Only two other centres exceeded 5 per cent Osaka (6 per cent) and Bangkok (5 per cent). Although currently much of Osaka's cargo is handled in Tokyo, there is no guarantee that after completion of the new Kansai International Airport this cargo will be switched - quality of service, as noted, not distance is the key desideratum.

A graphical analysis of the flows highlights how the network has expanded and deepened, with the most dominant links exceeding 40,000 tonnes (fig. 3.8). These comprise Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. The Seoul-Tokyo and Hong Kong-Tokyo legs exceeded 93,000 tonnes and the Taipei-Tokyo leg 72,000 tonnes. An analysis of the major "sources" reaffirms the presence of the Bangkok-Hong Kong-Taipei axis, with Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Shanghai as minor "sources." Tokyo is the major "sink," with inflows exceeding outflows by 130,000 tonnes - the other "sinks" (Osaka, Seoul, and Singapore) all being less than 30,000 tonnes.

An examination of changes between 1983 and 1990 highlights the volatility of air freight movements (table 3.17). This analysis pinpoints the faster growth of world cities in South-East Asia. As both Manila and Bangkok failed to keep pace with events, the positive showings were confined to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and, above all, Singapore, which had ambitions to be a "global cargo city." The net gain among world cities in South-East Asia was at the expense of Taipei, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, although all other centres made positive showings, with Seoul experiencing a massive increase. These results raise the question of which world city should be regarded as the air cargo hub for Pacific Asia - Federal Express is considering Taipei. They also prompt an investigation of air mail patterns to determine whether they are a carbon copy of air freight or differ because of their higher information content. Using the comprehensive set of statistics on air mail in 1983 and 1990, a similar analysis to that of air cargo is undertaken.

International air mail

The growth of courier services and technological changes in telecommunications have brought about some complex problems in international air mail movements between Pacific Asia's world cities. In Japan, for example, international sea mail declined continuously after the late 1970s in both Tokyo and Osaka but air mail grew markedly until the mid-1980s. However, since then air mail trends in Japan have been more or less constant, suggesting alternative forms of international linkages and interactions are being used.

Fig. 3.8 Air cargo movements between world cities in Pacific Asia, 1990 (Source: ICAO, 1991)

In 1983, 21,065 tonnes of air mail were moved in interactions between Pacific Asia's world cities (table 3.18). The "top five" world cities were responsible for 79 per cent of the air mail generated. Tokyo (34 per cent) was the dominant node, followed by Hong Kong (15 per cent), Seoul (12 per cent), Taipei, and Singapore (both 9 per cent). Apart from Manila and Bangkok (both 7 per cent) and Osaka (5 per cent), no other centres made a significant contribution. The degree of concentration among the "top five" destinations was 72 per cent. The major recipient was Tokyo (25 per cent), followed by Manila and Seoul (both 13 per cent), Hong Kong (12 per cent), and Taipei (10 per cent). Singapore and Bangkok (both 8 per cent) challenged for a place in the "top five" ahead of Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta (both 5 per cent). The remaining centres - Osaka, Beijing, and Shanghai - received a negligible amount of air mail.

Table 3.17 Changes in air height tonnage within Pacific Asia, 1983 and 1990

	1983		1990		Change 1983-1990
City	Tonnes	Per cent	Tonnes	Per cent	Tonnes	Per cent
Jakarta	6,615	1.6	37,540	2.8	+30,925	+1.2
Singapore	41,285	9.7	164,380	12.1	+123,095	+2.4
Kuala Lumpur	10,170	2.4	44,651	3.3	+34,481	+0.9
Bangkok	44,310	10.5	132,232	9.8	+87,922	- 0.7
Manila	14,657	3.5	40,863	3.0	+26,206	-0.5
South-East Asia	117,037	27.7	419,666	31.0	+302,629	+3.3
Taipei	76,621	18.1	172,031	12.7	+95,410	-5.4
Hong Kong	87,883	20.7	227,911	16.8	+140,028	-3.9
Shanghai	430	0.1	4,464	0.3	+4,034	+0.2
Beijing	523	0.1	2,314	0.2	+1,791	+0.1
Osaka	18,089	4.3	61,345	4.5	+43,256	+0.2
Tokyo	84,520	19.9	214,450	15.8	+129,930	- 4.1
Seoul	38,658	9.1	253,382	18.7	+214,724	+9.6
East Asia	306,724	72.3	935,897	69.0	+629,173	-3.3
Pacific Asia	423,761	100.0	1,355,563	100.0	+931,802

Source. (lCAO, 1984,1991).

An examination of the flow pattern highlighted Tokyo's dominant position (fig. 3.9). Flows above 1,000 tonnes involved the Hong Kong-Tokyo, Tokyo-Seoul and Tokyo-Manila routes. Major "sources" were Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The major "sinks" were Manila, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur, and, to a lesser extent, Beijing, Taipei, Bangkok, and Seoul.

Table 3.18 Origin and destination of air mail within Pacific Asia, 1983

	Origin		Destination
City	Tonnes	Per cent	Tonnes	Per cent
Jakarta	79	0.4	1,008	4.7
Singapore	1,870	8.8	1,769	8.3
Kuala Lumpur	305	1.4	1,031	4.8
Bangkok	1,460	6.8	1,600	7.5
Manila	1,505	7.0	2,711	12.7
South-East Asia	5,219	24.4	8,119	38.0
Taipei	1,989	9.3	2,189	10.2
Hong Kong	3,177	14.9	2,551	11.9
Shanghai	4	0	12	0.1
Beijing	5	0	26	1.5
Osaka	1,086	5.1	233	1.1
Tokyo	7,356	34.4	5,266	24.7
Seoul	2,529	11.9	2,669	12.5
East Asia	16,146	75.6	12,946	62.0
Pacific Asia	21,365	100.0	21,065	100.0

Source: ICAO (1484).

In 1990, almost 40,000 tonnes of international air mail were moved between Pacific Asia's world cities - an annual increase of over 12 per cent since 1983. The "top five" world cities generated more than 84 per cent of the cargo. Hong Kong (25 per cent) had usurped Tokyo (23 per cent) as the major generator of air mail, with Seoul (17 per cent), Taipei (10 per cent), and Bangkok (9 per cent) making up the "top five" (table 3.19). The only other significant generators were Manila and Singapore (both 5 per cent) and Osaka (3 per cent). The contributions of Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta (both 1 per cent) and Shanghai and Beijing were negligible. Receipts of international air mail among the world cities were more dispersed, with the "top five" attracting almost 73 per cent. Among the "top five" destinations, Tokyo (27 per cent) maintained its dominant position, followed by Taipei, Manila, and Seoul (all on 12 per cent), Bangkok (9 per cent), Hong Kong (8 per cent), Singapore (7 per cent), Osaka (5 per cent), Jakarta (4 per cent), and Kuala Lumpur (2 per cent). Contributions by Beijing and Shanghai were insignificant.

A consideration of the dominant flows highlighted the intensification of the network and the increase in the number of connections in excess of 500 tonnes (fig. 3.10). The main feature was the deepening of connections between world cities in East Asia. Four of the seven major flows over 1,000 tonnes involved Tokyo. Flows on the Seoul-Tokyo leg superseded Hong Kong-Tokyo as the most heavily trafficked. Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, and Shanghai had no major connections. The major "sources" were Hong Kong and Seoul. Manila was the major "sink," followed by Tokyo, Jakarta, Taipei, Singapore, and Osaka, with Beijing, Shanghai, and Bangkok as minor "sinks." The most striking feature compared with the air freight network was the incorporation of Manila into the network - presumably a reflection of Filipinos domiciled in major world cities throughout Pacific Asia.

Fig. 3.9 Air mail movements between world cities in Pacific Asia, 1983 (Source: ICAO, 1984)

Table 3.19 Origin and destination of air mail within Pacific Asia, 1990

	Origin		Destination
City	Tonnes	Per cent	Tonnes	Per cent
Jakarta	390	1.0	1,747	4.4
Singapore	1,876	4.7	2,665	6.7
Kuala Lumpur	557	1.4	888	2.2
Bangkok	3,476	8.7	3,582	9.0
Manila	2,038	5.1	4,923	12.3
South-East Asia	8,337	20.9	13,805	34.6
Taipei	3,973	10.0	4,931	12.3
Hong Kong	10,117	25.3	3,258	8.2
Shanghai	14	0.0	108	0.3
Beijing	62	0.2	336	0.8
Osaka	1,367	3.4	1,971	4.9
Tokyo	9,282	23.2	10,948	27.4
Seoul	6,787	17.0	4,582	11.5
East Asia	31,602	79.1	26,134	65.4
Pacific Asia	39,939	100.0	39,939	100.0

Source: ICAO (1991).

An analysis of changes in the generation of international air mail shows a shift of over 3 per cent from world cities in South-East Asia to their counterparts in East Asia (table 3.20). The main negative showings were Singapore - a leader in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) - and Manila. These were sufficient to offset the positive showings of Bangkok and Jakarta. In East Asia the principal losses were recorded by Tokyo and Osaka - a reflection of Japan's lead in shifting from an industrial to a post-industrial society. These relative losses were more than offset by major gains in Hong Kong and, to a lesser extent, in Seoul. Are these changes replicated in international passenger transport or is there yet another pattern consistent with the face-to-face transfer of structurally complex information?

Fig. 3.10 Air mail movements between world cities in Pacific Asia, 1990 (Source ICAO, 1991)