Ocean liner shipping: Organizational and contractual response by agribusiness shippers to regulatory change

Hayden Stewart () and Fred S. Inaba
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Fred S. Inaba: Department of Economics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4750. E-mail: inaba@wsu.edu, Postal: Department of Economics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4750. E-mail: inaba@wsu.edu

Agribusiness, 2003, vol. 19, issue 4, 459-472

Abstract: The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 (OSRA) promotes changes in international ocean liner shipping. An important policy issue attendant to the passage of OSRA is the Act's likely impact on the international competitiveness of the sectors that depend upon ocean shipping. Thus, to establish how freight rates and other logistical costs of using ocean liner services are now determined, this study examines emerging methods of organization and contracting among exporters of food and forest products. We find that, although many shippers negotiate private contracts with carriers, many others utilize a third-party agent to negotiate a rate with a carrier on their behalf. This article also identifies differences between two key types of third-party agents. Finally, given that a shipper in this trade does not contract directly with a carrier, this article explains the shipper's conditional choice about which type of agent to use. [EconLit citations: L140, L980, Q130]. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 19: 459-472, 2003.

Date: 2003
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:agribz:v:19:y:2003:i:4:p:459-472

DOI: 10.1002/agr.10072

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