Journal profile · TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Economics & Logistics
ISSN 1479-2931 · eISSN 1479-294X · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Maritime Economics & Logistics: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 6.7; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,390; median 120 days to acceptance (30 articles, last 24 months); 31 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Maritime Economics & Logistics is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Maritime Ports and Logistics, Maritime Transport Emissions and Efficiency and Urban and Freight Transport Logistics, together about 51.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Maritime Economics & Logistics (MEL) is a peer-reviewed quarterly scientific publication committed to the analysis of global supply chains; that is, ocean transportation, ports, marine terminals and maritime logistics. Papers are expected to be thoroughly researched, scientifically accurate and defendable, and at the same time, of direct applicability and usefulness to practitioners and policy makers alike. All contributions are subject to strict peer-review. Often, MEL includes a special section under the heading 'Policy Perspectives'. Papers here, often solicited ones, emphasise strategic policy implications rather than scientific rigour in a strict sense. Papers in Policy Perspectives are subject to lighter peer review; this results in speedier publication. Papers submitted to MEL are submitted for both sections at the discretion of the editors. Authors not wishing to have their papers considered for Policy Perspectives should state this in the Cover Letter.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): TRANSPORTATION
Editor-in-chief Hercules HaralambidesPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United States 9, Greece 6, Mainland China 5, United Kingdom 5, Norway 5 (62 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Maritime Ports and LogisticsEngineering33.8%
- Maritime Transport Emissions and EfficiencyEnvironmental Science9.5%
- Urban and Freight Transport LogisticsEngineering8.3%
- Global trade and economicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.4%
- Transportation Planning and OptimizationSocial Sciences5%
- Law, logistics, and international tradeBusiness, Management and Accounting4.6%
- Vehicle Routing Optimization MethodsEngineering4.1%
- Outsourcing and Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Transportation | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Transportation | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Transportation | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEINSPECEconLitPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, RePEc
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 6.7LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 11.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.29LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.04LetPub ·
- h-index
- 75OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 484OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.11OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 20.25%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 29LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 206,800Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 697 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | 11 | 19 |
| 2025 | 31 | 10 | 122 |
| 2024 | 30 | 10 | 506 |
| 2023 | 26 | 12 | 495 |
| 2022 | 49 | 30 | 1,332 |
| 2021 | 24 | 17 | 1,032 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
120 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 98 days – 154 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (63 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 140 days
- Sample
- 30 articles with submission and acceptance dates (65 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,390 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Self-archiving
- AI use AI Policy
AI use policy: manuscripts predominantly produced by generative AI may be rejected; authors should only use specialized language software for linguistic improvement rather than AI agents. Model summary
Over the past decade, the editors of Maritime Economics & Logistics (MEL) have acquired considerable experience in evaluating the originality, coherence and intellectual contribution of submitted manuscripts. Where there are strong indications that a manuscript has been produced predominantly by generative AI rather than by its listed authors, the corresponding author will first be contacted to di…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Author list changes (addition, deletion, rearrangement) must be made before acceptance and approved by the journal Editor. Model summary
Authors are advised that any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted. These changes must be approved by the journal Editor.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Authors must disclose commercial interests; the journal will not publish articles based on confidential or commercially sensitive information. Model summary
Authors should detail any commercial interests they might have in the subject matter of their article. Maritime Economics and Logistics will not publish articles whose argumentation and or modelling is based on privy, commercially sensitive, or otherwise confidential information.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and Permissions
Using third-party material in your articleAuthors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party material (e.g. figures, tables, photos, illustrations, trade literature, or data) is not used without permission. If such material is copyrighted, permission must be obtained and submitted with the final manuscript. The Editor and Publisher must be informed of any restricted-use content at submissio…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access & Self Archiving
Self-archiving (green open access)Where articles are published via the subscription route, authors are permitted to self-archive the accepted manuscript (the version post-peer review, but prior to copy-editing and typesetting) on their own personal website and/or in their funder or institutional repositories, for public release after an embargo period of 12 months after first publication.Learn mor…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Open Access & Self Archiving
Green open access: self-archiving of the accepted manuscript permitted after a 12-month embargo for subscription-route articles. Model summary
Self-archiving (green open access)Where articles are published via the subscription route, authors are permitted to self-archive the accepted manuscript (the version post-peer review, but prior to copy-editing and typesetting) on their own personal website and/or in their funder or institutional repositories, for public release after an embargo period of 12 months after first publication.Learn mor…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1479-2931
- Electronic ISSN
- 1479-294X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 28, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Maritime Economics & Logistics
What CAS zone is Maritime Economics & Logistics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Maritime Economics & Logistics is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Transportation. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Maritime Economics & Logistics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.7; CiteScore 11.4, h-index 75.
How long does peer review take at Maritime Economics & Logistics?
Based on the dates recorded on 30 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 120 days (interquartile range 98–154 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Maritime Economics & Logistics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Chicago. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Maritime Economics & Logistics based?
Of the 62 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (9), Greece (6) and Mainland China (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Maritime Economics & Logistics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Maritime Economics & Logistics is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, INSPEC and EconLit; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Maritime Economics & Logistics open access, and what is the APC?
Maritime Economics & Logistics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,390.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .