ESTIMATION OF THE TREND OF SHIPPING IMPORT TRADE HAULED BETWEEN THE SOUTH EAST REGION AND THE MAJOR SEAPORTS.

Abstract

This study estimated the trend facilitating shipping import trade in the south-east region of Nigeria. The specific objective is to ascertain the trend of shipping import trade hauled between the major seaports of Onne, Lagos Apapa, Warri, Calabar and the Rivers port, in the South-east region of Nigeria; It used a mixed method design(qualitative and quantitative) which involved the use of secondary data and survey. Secondary data on the import shipping trade hauled in the south-east region and each of Lagos Apapa seaport, Onne seaport, Warri seaport, Calabar seaport and Rivers port were obtained from the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) statistical report. Primary data on the cost of trucking per TEU of shipping trade between the south-east Nigeria and the five major seaports were also obtained .The statistical methods of trend analysis, paired sample t-test, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data obtained. Excel software was used to implement the analysis. The findings of the study reveal that, the equation showing the trend of shipping import trade from Lagos Apapa port to South east region is: IMPSTRDE_LAG-ONIT  =15331188 + 283543.9X₁(4.1).It is recommended that the significant increase in the trend of shipping import trade between the Lagos seaports and the South-east Nigeria should be sustained and improved upon in order to ensure the sustainable viability of the Onitsha port when fully operational.