Logistics service level of port activities as perceived by exporting industries

The export of manufactured products by Brazilian industries is burdened by heavy land transportation costs and port expenses, in association with unsatisfactory logistics service levels when compared with similar conditions abroad. Custumers' full satisfaction has become a paradigm of modern logistics. However, Brazilian port authorities have not tried to evaluate in a systematic way the users' opinions with respect to the services offered to them. In this paper we discuss the application of stated preference or conjoint analysis techniques to quantify the weights associated with the different factors that make up the service level in the exporting process of manufactured goods. The methodology is applied to the industries of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, which export products in containers through local ports.