Liner Shipping Companies and Terminal Operators: Internationalisation or Globalisation?

Issues of global integration between liner shipping companies and ports and terminals are investigated. For several years there has been a significant reorganisation and concentration of operators with the result that an increasing proportion of container shipping, handling and distribution capacity is now in the hands of fewer, larger companies. It is likely that this trend will continue into the foreseeable future. It is shown that in some areas, such as Europe, concentration of ownership is approaching saturation: freedom of choice and shortage of competition are becoming major issues. In both shipping and ports, while several companies are large, very few can claim to be truly global, although many aspire to be. For terminal operators, a certain minimum geographical coverage in terms of handling capacity is needed, and for liner shipping companies a minimum fleet slot capacity is likewise required. The increasingly complex pattern of ownership through, for example, shareholdings, suggests that there is a need for a clearer policy towards terminal ownership and shipping capacity provision at the global level, to ensure that a reasonable level of fair competition is maintained.

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