The Northern Sea Route as a reefer container transport corridor

Abstract

The use of the Northern Sea Route as a transport corridor between the European and Asian continents is currently attracting increased interest in the trade, economic and logistic communities. The possibility to deliver cargo from Europe to Asia and back much faster is extremely attractive for cargo owners in the conditions of instability of the development of modern regional economic trends, turbulence of the global economy as a whole. In the conditions of rapidly changing market demand and supply in the markets of food products in Europe and Asia, the use of the Northern Sea Route as the shortest route between two continents is becoming especially popular for operators in the field of perishable goods logistics. Nevertheless, the possibility of using the Northern Sea Route is significantly limited by the complexity of transporting cargo in the autumn-winter period due to the need for ice pilotage. Assessment of the competitiveness of the Northern Sea Route compared to traditional routes seems to be an important aspect of the formation of consumer preferences among the owners of perishable goods and operators of transportation in reefer containers. The paper proposes a method for assessing the competitiveness of the Northern Sea Route with respect to alternative routes, taking into account the specifics of transportation of perishable goods in reefer containers. Criteria and indicators of competitiveness of the compared routes are presented, covering the full range of economic and technological components that determine the handling and transportation of perishable goods in reefer containers.