While Kaohsiung's fall has led some to wonder if Taiwan's economy is being marginalized, the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau stated that the actual reason for the decline was the failure of expansion of the port's infrastructure to keep pace with the booming demand for freight transportation.
這樣的成績固然引起台灣是否已在全球經濟中邊緣化的疑慮，但據高雄港務局表示，真正的原因在於高雄港的硬體建設跟不上旺盛貨運需求。