Jean-Paul Rodrigue
Professor of Global Studies and Geography | Hofstra University
Long Island, NY, UNITED STATES
Author and Specialist in Transportation and Economics
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Biography
Jean-Paul Rodrigue received a Ph.D. in Transport Geography from the Université de Montréal (1994) and has been at the Department of Economics & Geography at Hofstra University since 1999. In 2008, he became part of the Department of Global Studies and Geography.
Dr. Rodrigue sits on the international editorial board of the Journal of Transport Geography, the Journal of Shipping and Trade and the Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport. He is a board member of the University Transportation Research Center, Region II of the City University of New York and is a lead member of the PortEconomics.eu initiative. Dr. Rodrigue is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Manufacturing as well as of the International Association of Maritime Economists. In 2013, the US Secretary of Transportation appointed Dr. Rodrigue to sit on the Advisory Board of the US Merchant Marine Academy. He is also the New York team leader for the MetroFreight project about city logistics. He regularly performs advisory and consulting assignments for international organizations and corporations and is interviewed by the media over transportation related matters.
He has authored 6 books, 32 book chapters, more than 50 peer reviewed papers, numerous reports, and delivered more than 150 conferences and seminar presentations, mostly at the international level. His paper about port regionalization became one of the world’s most cited work in maritime transportation. His book about the global economic space, has been published by Les Presses de l'Universté du Québec and won the 2001 PricewaterhouseCoopers award (Prix du livre d'affaire) for the best French business-related book published in North America. His high impact textbook, The Geography of Transport Systems (Online Version), was first published by Routledge in July 2006 and is now in its fourth edition. He is also co-editor of the Sage Handbook of Transport Studies.
Industry Expertise (6)
International Trade and Development
Shipping (Marine)
Financial Services
Education/Learning
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
Import and Export
Areas of Expertise (8)
Transportation
Cruise Shipping
City Logistics
Globalization and Transport Terminals
Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution
Geography of Logistics and Global Production Networks
The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets
Economics
Accomplishments (10)
Building Capacity to Manage Risks and Enhance Resilience: A Guidebook for Ports (professional)
Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue has seen the publication of a comprehensive guidebook about port resilience, for which he acted as lead consultant and author. The guidebook, titled Building Capacity to Manage Risks and Enhance Resilience: A Guidebook for Ports, was released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). https://resilientmaritimelogistics.unctad.org/sites/resilientmaritimelogistics/files/2022-08/UNCTAD_TCS_DTL_INF_2022_3%20WEB_23%20August.pdf
Hagler Fellowship at Texas A&M University (professional)
2022-04-15
The Hagler Institute annually invites a number of nationally and internationally prominent scholars to pursue advanced study in collaboration with faculty and students at Texas A&M. Each Hagler Fellow affiliates with one or more of the doctoral degree granting academic departments housed in 16 colleges and schools. Dr. Rodrigue will act as a Hagler Fellow within the Maritime Business Administration Department on the university’s Galveston Campus.
Best Business Book (professional)
2000-01-01
Awarded by the PricewaterhouseCoopers for 'The Global Economic Space: Advanced Economies and Globalization'
Author (professional)
The Geography of Transport Systems, Rodrigue, J-P, (2017) (ed), Fourth Edition, London: Routledge. 440 pages. ISBN: 978-1-138-66957-4.
Author (professional)
Rodrigue, J-P, T. Notteboom and J. Shaw (2013) (eds) The Sage Handbook of Transport Studies, London: Sage. 592 pages. ISBN: 978-1-849-20789-8.
Author (professional)
Rodrigue, J-P, (2013) (ed) The Geography of Transport Systems, Third Edition, London: Routledge. 416 pages. ISBN: 978-0-415-82254-1. Also available in Chinese by the China Communication Press.
Co-author (professional)
Rodrigue, J-P, C. Comtois and B. Slack (2009) The Geography of Transport Systems, Second Edition, London: Routledge, 352 pages. ISBN: 978-0-415-48324-7.
Author (professional)
Rodrigue, J-P (2000) L'espace économique mondial: les économies avancées et la mondialisation, (The Global Economic Space : Advanced Economies and Globalization), Collection géographie contemporaine, Sainte Foy : Presses de l'Université du Québec, 534 pages. ISBN 2760510379. PricewaterhouseCoopers Best Business Book Award.
Editor (professional)
2017-05-17
Rodrigue, J-P, (ed) The Geography of Transport Systems, Fourth Edition, London: Routledge. 440 pages. ISBN: 978-1-138-66957-4.
Co-editor (professional)
2017-05-17
Rodrigue, J-P, T. Notteboom and J. Shaw (eds) The Sage Handbook of Transport Studies, London: Sage. 592 pages. ISBN: 978-1-849-20789-8.
Education (3)
University of Montreal: Ph.D., Transportation 1994
University of Montreal: M.Sc., Geography 1991
University of Montreal: B.Sc., Geography 1989
Affiliations (1)
- Co-Founder and Principal Instructor at PortEconomics Distance Learning
Links (7)
Media Appearances (16)
Is the Panama Canal in Danger of Drying Up?
Al Jazeera online
2023-08-29
The piece looks at the drought facing the Panama Canal, and how it has forced restrictions on the weight and number of cargo ships allowed to transit. The wait time for ships to pass through the Panama Canal has increased from an average five days to 11.
The rival to the Panama Canal that was never built
BBC online
2023-08-25
This article looks at the prospects of the Nicaragua Canal in light of the current water issues at the Panama Canal. Interests in a canal in Nicaragua have been recurring, the last time around 2014 by Chinese investors, but abated due to technical and cost challenges. It is “technically feasible”, said Dr. Rodrigue, who has studied the long history of discussions around building the Nicaraguan Canal. But there are many obstacles. “The problem is the distances involved are much longer, significantly longer,” he explained.
Where have all the truck drivers gone? Pandemic supply chain disruptions are exacerbating a years long trucker shortage.
Vox online
2022-01-02
Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Professor of Global Studies and Geography and an expert on transportation, logistics, and freight distribution, was interviewed by Vox about supply chain issues and the shortage of truck drivers.
Quebec port’s container terminal plans raise questions of feasibility, Montreal’s future
Journal of Commerce online
2018-05-21
“Quebec port’s container terminal plans raise questions of feasibility, Montreal’s future” in the Journal of Commerce features an interview with Professor of Global Studies and Geography Jean-Paul Rodrigue, who is an expert in maritime transport systems and logistics. The article is about plans to build a $310 million container terminal at the Port of Quebec within three years. Its aim is to attract mega-ships, but the feasibility of the project is being questioned. There are also concerns about the economic impact it would have on the Port of Montreal. Professor Rodrigue is the author of the forthcoming paper, “Rocking the Boat: A new dynamic for Canadian East Coast container ports.”
Is the bull market for stocks moving into a more dangerous phase?
USA Today online
2018-03-08
Professor of Global Studies and Geography Jean-Paul Rodrigue was interviewed by USA Today to discuss the four phases of the bull market’s life – pessimism, skepticism, optimism and euphoria. Many experts believe the market has entered this final phase. The selling begins when “new information forces people to readjust their views about the market,” explains Dr. Rodrigue, who back in 2008 mapped the “main stages of a bubble.” “You never know what will trigger the next downturn,” Rodrigue says. “It can be a shock, something surprising or some very powerful event.”
Lyft and Uber reshaping Long Island’s transportation sector
Newsday print
2018-02-16
Professor of Global Studies and Geography Jean-Paul Rodrigue was interviewed by Newsday to discuss how Lyft and Uber are reshaping Long Island’s transportation sector. He explained that Long Island was ripe for ride hailing because of its higher-than-average income, its population density and its limited public transportation.
Container terminal in Quebec: pros and cons
leSoleil online
2018-01-08
Professor of Global Studies and Geography Jean-Paul Rodrigue, who participated in studies commissioned by the Quebec Port Authority, was interviewed by the Canadian news site leSoleil.com (The Sun) about the pros and cons of a container terminal in the Beauport Bay. Although he does not believe that the St. Lawrence can attract 10,000-container ships, Dr. Rodrigue deems it realistic to attract the smaller category of 5,000 to 8,000 unit ships.
If this Bitcoin surge is a bubble, we're in the pre-crash mania phase
The Telegraph (UK) online
2017-12-01
Bitcoin's recent exponential surge seems to have captured the public imagination over the past few weeks. If this increase in interest is anything to go by, then we could well be in the midst of the pre-crash mania phase of an asset bubble. In 2008 Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, from the Department of Economics and Geography at Hofstra University in New York, described a four-stage model for the value of an asset during a bubble.
BACKLASH FEARED ON US EAST COAST PORT SPEND
Port Strategy online
2017-06-27
Global Studies and Geography Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue told delegates at the Terminal Operators Conference in Amsterdam that massive public spending on dredging projects to deepen and expand East Coast ports could lead to a backlash when the anticipated increase in volume does not materialize, according to a report on his remarks in PortStrategy.com
How Amazon’s ‘invisible’ hand can shape your city
Curbed.com online
2017-05-02
Jean-Paul Rodrigue was interviewed by Curbed.com for an insightful article that analyzes the impact that Amazon has had not just on retail but on shipping and transportation and how city planners have to consider the almost daily deliveries residents are receiving. These affect traffic, parking and access to homes, apartment buildings and businesses. Amazon’s expansion into brick and mortar stories and groceries adds to the equation.
Cities Seek Deliverance From the E-Commerce Boom
CityLab.com online
2017-04-20
Jean-Paul Rodrigue was interviewed by CityLab.com about e-commerce and the problem of traffic congestion in busy urban areas. As more people and businesses conduct business online and expect expedited shipping, UPS, FedEx and other delivery trucks are taking up space on busy streets and roadways. Dr. Rodrigue, the article says, recently completed his own delivery survey of a 300-unit apartment building in northern New Jersey. Over the course of 2016, more than 23,000 packages were delivered, which breaks down to about 65 packages per day.
The bull market in stocks just turned 8, and a pullback is the best thing that can happen
Business Insider
2017-03-09
Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue of Hofstra University is the creator of the following illustration of stages of a bubble. We asked him to describe the current status. "I have given up a long time ago trying to make any precise assessment about market bubbles, particularly their blow-off, since a lack of rationality is more the norm than the exception these days," Rodrigue said. Based on the stages he outlined, though, the market is most likely somewhere between "enthusiasm" and "delusion," before the top. It's just impossible to know how long it'll take to peak...
Buoyed by Tesla, Port of Oakland wants to be ships’ first stop
San Francisco Chronicle
2017-01-28
“The ambitions of the Port of Oakland do not fit well with the port of call preferences of shipping lines,” said Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a professor of global studies and geography at Hofstra University in New York. “For time-sensitive containerized cargoes, Prince Rupert (a port town in British Columbia) is a better option, since it has a direct rail connection to Chicago. “The majority of the first port calls on the West Coast are to Long Beach, because the retail cargo that dominates most of these trades is bound to the large consumption market of Southern California, with the remaining shipping by rail toward Chicago,” Rodrigue said. “Southern California acts as a large magnet that shippers cannot ignore in their port of call sequence.”...
How would Trump trade proposals affect the port?
Daily Press
2016-11-10
High tariffs "definitely would hurt the port," but the impact on businesses far from Virginia could be even more severe, said Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a Hofstra University geographer who specializes in port economics...
How the rise of air travel sparked a new industry: cruise lines
Los Angeles Times
2016-05-16
"Why spend several days on a ship when you could do it in a few hours?" asked Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a geography and global studies professor at Hofstra University in New York. Rodrigue wrote about the cruise industry in his book "The Geography of Transport Systems." "While a jet plane could link Paris or London to New York in about eight hours, it took about four days for a liner to cross the Atlantic," he said...
According To Many Famous Investors, U.S. Stocks Are In A Bubble
Forbes
2014-01-28
According to Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue of Hofstra University, bubbles go through stages. The following graph illustrates the primary stages of a bubble. Stage One is the Stealth Phase, when the "smart money" enters. Stage Two is the Awareness Phase, when institutions begin to invest. Stage Three is the Mania Phase, when the media broadcasts it to the general public who, in turn, begin to invest. It is during this phase that speculation rises, investors buy on margin, and prices soar. At the peak of this stage a new paradigm emerges. The paradigm is that prices will always rise, which is reinforced by a surge of excess and superfluous optimism...
Research Focus (1)
Dr. Rodrigue's research interests include:
Maritime Shipping and Global Trade (current) Vertical and horizontal integration in liner shipping, terminal operations and logistics. Developments in seaport systems in light of shifting socioeconomic trends and capacity changes such as the expansion of the Panama Canal. The insertion of transshipment hubs in shipping networks. The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets (current) Investigating public and private roles and strategies in the setting and operations of global freight distribution systems. The role of global equity firms, terminal operators and shipping companies in global supply chains. The financing of global supply chains. Geography of Logistics and Global Production Networks (current) Investigating conceptual and empirical aspects behind the emerging geography of logistics and freight distribution. Particular issues involve global production networks, international / regional freight distribution, shifts in manufacturing, third-party logistics, location within complex multinational supply chains, green/reverse logistics and sustainability. City Logistics (current) Issues related to the urban circulation of goods. Urban and suburban freight distribution. Urban logistics zones. Impacts of ecommerce and reverse logistics. Sustainable urban freight transport systems. Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution (current) Investigating the relationships between major transport gateways and regional / urban freight distribution. Specific aspects involve inland terminals, rail transportation, the logistics industry, distribution centers and distribution clusters (logistics zones). The Containerization of Commodities and Cold Chain Logistics (current) The impacts of the containerization of the commodity sector, its niche market opportunities and its effects on global and regional container flows. The emerging market of refrigerated containers supporting food trade (perishables) is also investigated. The Regionalization of Port Terminals (current) Investigating the impacts of globalization processes on transport terminals, notably maritime and rail terminals and freight distribution centers. Involves the regionalization of hinterlands, economic cycles and international trade. Cruise Shipping (current) Geographical aspects of the industry, including itineraries and ports of calls. Cruise markets, seasonality and network configuration.
Articles (5)
The Geography of Cruises: Itineraries, Not Destinations
Applied Geography
2013 The cruise industry is a highly concentrated business in terms of players and markets. Vessel deployment strategies and itinerary design by cruise operators are primordial and are affected by market and operational considerations. This paper focuses on capacity deployment and itineraries in two major cruise markets: the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. We argue that the cruise industry sells itineraries, not destinations, implying a level of flexibility in the selection of ports of call, but still bound to important operational considerations. The paper also reveals that the two cruise markets are not functioning independently but are interconnected in an operational manner, particularly through the repositioning of vessel units to cope with variations in seasonal demand among the regional markets.
The Corporate Geography of Global Container Terminal Operators
Maritime Policy & Management
2012 The terminal and stevedoring industry has expanded substantially in recent years with the emergence of global container terminal operators controlling large multinational portfolios of terminal assets. This paper deals with the emerging corporate geography in the container terminal industry with issues related to the similarities or differences among terminal locations, the processes leading to the expansion of these holdings and the interactions they maintain as nodes within the global freight distribution system. It will be demonstrated that terminal operators show varying degrees of involvement in the main cargo handling markets around the world and that business cycles and a changing world economic geography can alter the geographical orientation of operators’ investment strategies. We unravel the corporate geography of leading firms such as Hutchison Port Holdings, Port of Singapore Authority, DP World, and APM Terminals, but also operators that are more regionally focused, such as Ports America, Eurogate, SSA Marine, and ICTSI.
Foreland-Based Regionalization: Integrating Intermediate Hubs with Port Hinterlands
Research in Transportation Economics
2010 Development and changes in port hinterlands have received considerable attention as they represent substantial opportunities to improve the efficiency of global freight distributions. Port regionalization was a concept brought forward by Notteboom and Rodrigue (2005) to articulate the emerging port hinterland dynamics in light of containerization, supply chain management and the setting of inland terminals. This paper expands this concept by focusing on a particular dimension of the regionalization paradigm concerning the evolving role of intermediate hubs. It is argued that, in addition to hinterland-based regionalization, there is also a foreland-based regionalization where intermediate hubs capture a maritime hinterland. This intensity and viability of processes of foreland-based regionalization depend on multiple geographical, technical and market-related factors, and this paper identifies and analyzes these underlying parameters. By doing so, it assesses whether foreland-based regionalization is simply a transitional phase in port development or, alternatively, represents emerging functional characteristics of contemporary freight distributions.
Comparative North American and European Gateway Logistics: The Regionalism of Freight Distribution
Journal of Transport Geography
2010 The global freight distribution system has been impacted by convergence in terms of technology, infrastructure, modes and terminals. Still, in spite of strong converging forces, it can be argued that logistical practices are far from being uniform. This paper analyses the regionalism in freight transport systems by providing a comparative analysis of gateway logistics practices in North America and Europe. It is demonstrated that Europe and North America are not walking the same paths when it comes to the configuration of transport and logistics networks, via operational decisions and the setting of a regulatory framework. The attributes of gateways, corridors, hinterlands, regulation, governance, value chains and labor provide an analytical framework to understand the regionalism of freight distribution in the North American and European contexts, as well as anywhere else.
The Geography of Transport Systems
Routledge
2009 Examination of the geographical layout of a variety of transport systems.
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