DRY PORTS – SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

PurposeThe concept of dry ports has gained significant interest since 2007 among practitioners and researchers. Consequently, today there are more than 80 papers available in Scopus and Science Direct databases compared to the two papers published in 2007. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) in order to summarize current scientific knowledge on the phenomenon of dry ports by identifying trends in research themes and eventual gap.MethodologySLR implies clear logic that assures replicability and traceability of the results. Analysis is conducted with help of the qualitative data analysis software (NVivo).FindingsThe research area is mainly represented by qualitative cases and optimization studies. Dry port examples differ around the world based on location, functions, ownership, and maturity level. Despite numerous implementation and operational challenges (e.g. legal, infrastructural, financial, social, environmental impediments), dry ports are elements of a more sustainable hinterland transportation that might benefit the port/logistics system ecologically, economically, and socially. The research area is young and a highly discrete one and thus has no discernable trend. However, research on roles of various actors of the transport system involved in dry port broader operations is rather scarce.Research limitationsThe literature search was conducted in Scopus and Science Direct databases in June 2017. Conference papers were excluded due to the fact that many transport related conferences are not covered in those databases and that the peer review processes of conferences are highly variable.OriginalityThe originality of the paper is in its pioneering steps towards summarizing relevant dry port literature and proposing a research agenda on dry ports, built upon the synthesis of the reviewed studies. The findings are of relevance to policy makers involved in urban planning, in general, and port planning, in particular