Market structure and horizontal growth strategies – A case study of the container shipping industry

Tran Nguyen Khoi ()
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Tran Nguyen Khoi: 88547 EM Normandie Business School, Métis Lab, 20 Quai Frissard, 76600 Le Havre, France

German Economic Review, 2022, vol. 23, issue 3, 423-461

Abstract: This article aims to review the structural transformation in the container shipping industry from 1995 to 2020 and identify the growth strategies of global carriers to enhance their market presence. Along with large investments in mega vessels, the growing deployment of charter capacity in all ship sectors has been a prominent trend in fleet expansion. The waves of mergers/acquisitions and bankruptcies have narrowed the group of global carriers. In addition to internal and external growth, they have been increasingly involved in strategic alliances to expand service coverage and compete well with powerful rivals. A few mega carriers have progressively captured the industry. In 2020, the Top 12 controlled 88 % of the global supply, and nearly 56 % was in the hands of the Top 4. Besides the substantial expansion of the four biggest carriers, we can identify the de-concentration within this gigantic group through the less inequality between their market shares.

Keywords: container shipping; market structure; horizontal integration; mega ships; merger and acquisition; strategic alliances (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L11 L91 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1515/ger-2021-0075

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