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Political Economy of World-Systems 2002 Conference Riverside, California |
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Abstract The Sea Transport Global Commodity Network, Economic Integration and the Implications for Hegemony Eileen Rhea Rabach Over the last few decades, the movement of international sea freight has been revolutionized by profound technological changes, including containerization, post-Panamax ships and complementary port technology, all of which are integrated through the application of information technology. In the process of radically collapsing the amount of time required to traverse space, transport technology has facilitated shipping lines to establish an increasingly concentrated network of global ports through which the vast majority of world trade is channeled. This paper presents data concerning the port-shipping global commodity network (GCN) , with an emphasis on the U.S. West Coast nexus in the Pacific Rim, and investigates the role of ocean freight transport as both a sector of production, which is impacted by globalization, and as a vital pillar of circulation, which is integral to the globalization of other productive sectors. The paper focuses on empirical data and patterns of trade pertaining to the content, actors, extent, and directions of global economic integration as reflected by this GCN in order to identify what broader implications are raised regarding the current economic character of U.S. hegemony. |
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27th Annual Conference of the Political Economy of World-Systems Spring Hosted by the Institute for Research on World-Systems at the University of California, Riverside |