About transportation and foreign trade

physical flows that may not necessarily use the most direct path, but the path of least cost. Inland corridors where economies of scale are more effective shapes the structure of freight flows and well as the selection of the port of exit. On the maritime side, transshipments hubs have become strategic intermediary locations helping consolidate maritime flows and connecting different maritime systems of circulation. In such a setting, the container has become the fundamental element facilitating transfers between modes and supporting international trade flows. Distribution centers play an important role in physical flows since they can act as a buffer helping reconcile the temporal and spatial requirements of demand.