Maritime liner shipping and the stevedoring industry: market structure and competition strategies

Abstract

Globalization, liberalization, competition and spatial interaction are significant
\nfactors affecting the transformation of manufacturing industries worldwide. In
\nthe transportation and logistics industry, however, cooperation is becoming even
\nmore critical than competition in determining firms’ efficiency. Cooperation has
\nalways characterized the liner sector in which strategic alliances, mergers and
\nacquisitions have generated twin effects: notable increases in ship size and falls
\nin freight rates. Meanwhile, the stevedoring industry is undergoing privatizationdriven
\nconsolidation and the emergence of global pure terminal operators.
\nThis article focuses on vertical integration between global carriers and terminal
\noperators. We address the following key current issues:
\n. dedicated terminals as a strategy for cutting costs and controlling integrated
\ntransport chains;
\n. the struggle for supply chain control, involving global carriers versus global
\nterminal operators, driven by financial power and technical and managerial
\ncapability.
\nWe close analysing one of the core problems of the market, namely the evolving
\nrole of the dedicated terminals. For the pure stevedores they represent an opportunity
\nto secure a cargo, while in the hands of the liners they enable cost stability
\nand the possibility to put pressure on pure terminal operators.