Asaf Ashar , PhD - Research Professor and Independent Consultant, Ports, Shipping and Intermodal Transportation

Dr. Ashar is Research Professor with the National Ports & Waterways Initiative (NPWI), USA, and also independent consultant. NPWI is a maritime research program of The University of New Orleans / Transportation Institute, with offices in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, LA and Washington D.C. Dr. Ashar has been with NPWI since 1985. Before that he was Senior Port Planner and Transportation Analyst with the Port of Seattle,WA, USA (1981 – 1985), and Senior Advisor for Operations with the Port and Rail Authority of Israel, Ports of Haifa & Ashdod (1972 – 1980). His academic background includes degrees in Industrial Engineering & Management (Technion, Israel, 1967), Marine System Management (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, 1982), and Maritime Studies and International Transport (University of Wales, United Kingdom, 1993).

Dr. Ashar has participated in numerous conferences and was quoted in many publications, among them: USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, The Journal of Commerce, Dredging Today, World Cargo News, Containerization International, Container Management, and Cargo Systems; and was interviewed on two National Public Radio stations. He also has developed and taught seminars and graduate courses on Ports & Shipping.

Dr. Ashar served as Expert Witness in several cases involving port concessions, port investments in new handling equipment, costs and rates for water and land transportation, and inter-port competition.

Dr. Ashar has over 50 academic and professional publications, among them the highly publicized series on The Fourth Revolution: Long-Terms Prospects of Liner Shipping (Containerization International, Dec 1999 & Jan 2000), Reversal of Fortune, Long-Term Forecast for US Ports, (Containerization International, Jan 2004, and World Cargo News, March 2004) and Revolution #4 (Containerization International, Dec 2006). More recently he addressed the impact of Panama Canal Expansion on US Ports (Containerization International, July 2010) and the Deepening US Port Channels (Journal of Commerce, Jan 2011).

Dr. Ashar’s areas of expertise include, in ports:

• National and regional port master plans
• Due dilligence studies for port privatization
• Port marketing and strategic analyzes
• State intermodal plans (coastal, inland waterways, rail, road)
• On/off-dock intermodal railyards
• Port privatization and concession programs
• Port legislation and regulatory reforms
• Port cost and pricing strategies
• Port operations and productivity analysis
• Port facility planning (containers, general, grain and coal terminals)

In shipping:

• Post-Panamax ship characteristics
• Ship and shipping costs
• Deployment strategies and of shipping lines
• Future shipping and transshipping service patterns
• Inland waterways containerships and Container on Barge (COB)
• Coastal, River/ Sea and Short-Sea Shipping
• Fast ferries and Ro/Pax shipping

Dr. Ashar has more than 30 years of extensive experience with ports, shipping, and multi-modal transportation systems in the US and more than 30 countries in Asia, South & Central America, Africa, West & East Europe, and the Middle East. His recent projects of special interest include:

• Long-Term ship forecast for US container ports in light of Panama Canal Expansion
• Strategic development plans for The Yangshan port complex in Shanghai, China; Inchon, South Korea; St. Antonio, Chile; Embraport, Santos, Brazil; Callao, Peru; Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia
• Expansion of Panama Canal and feasibility assessments of "dry" canals in Mexico and Costa Rica
• Short-sea and Inland Waterways shipping for both domestic and international containers in the US, Mexico, Bangladesh and the Phillipines
• Due dilligence assessments for investors in port concessions in Brazil, Colombia,, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, South Korea, Germany, Turkey and Namibia
• Expert witness support in cases involving the ports of Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Savannah.