UK container port investment and competition: impediments to the market

The UK’s container trade is dominated by ports in the South East of England. In order to accommodate both trade growth and the increasing size of container ships, several investment schemes have been put forward in recent years. During their public scrutiny, a number of impediments to the market have become apparent, namely, the treatment of sunk cost, environmental constraints, the availability of subsidies to UK competitor ports and the nature of inland network infrastructure charging. These are analysed with a view to identifying policy prescriptions that are consistent with European Union perceptions of fair competition.