FIATA-GSCC Market Structure and Maritime Competition Webinar Series – Session 1
On April 28, 2022, Dr. Rodrigue (Hofstra University, New York) delivered Session 1 of the FIATA-GSCC webinar series on market structure and maritime competition. Dr. Rodrigue shed light on market consolidation and vertical integration in container shipping. An enriching Q&A session with the participants followed the lecture.
Among the key highlights of the discussions, it was noted that containerization had now reached a mature stage where the volume of cargo the system can handle has nearly peaked. Path dependency built into the containerized transportation system means that a disruption at any point in the system has negative ripple effects throughout the supply chain.
The maturity of the industry has in turn led to consolidation. Recent trends include horizontal integration, either directly by merger or indirectly through the formation of alliances and consortia, and vertical integration via investments by carriers in shore-side terminals, trucking, and rail operations, and logistics firms. Competition between container shipping lines takes place not just with price and capacity, but increasingly with packaged services for shippers – a situation which has however created business opportunities for niche players, such as SMEs, who are able to provide specialized services (e.g., express services). In terms of outlooks, the current trends towards shipping rates moderation might come to a halt with new disruptive factors impacting the chain, such as the Shanghai shutdown or renewed congestion at US west coast ports. Finally, although a result of multidimensional and highly complex factors, surging freight rates have led to governments’ scrutiny around the world – and calls for their intervention, both to enforce existing competition law and to consider possible changes.
Interested in learning more? Contact me at [email protected] to register for the webinar series and get access to the session recording. Educators and students can register for FREE.
Please visit https://porteconomicsmanagement.org to access Dr. Rodrigue’s online reference materials
