Global Economy Crisis and its Impact on Operational Container Carrier’s Strategy

Abstract

The shipping market is an economic derivative of global production and trade, being precariously subject of their cyclic changes, depressions and expansions. This paper analyses the condition of global container shipping market, caused by long-lasting economic and financial crisis that begun in 2008, but is still much visible within the container industry, particularly through overcapacity and low freight rates. It also deals with major changes of maritime container carrier’s management strategies, development and application of advanced transportation, technological, technical, economical, organizational and commercial measures in order to adapt and cope with new business environment. Finally, an attempt is made to forecast the market, potential difficulties and to propose problem-solving measures.

Maritime Challenges in Crisis Times

“…Due to the high value of boats, shipping is a capital very intensive industry. The global economic crisis began in the financial sector in 2007, then culminated in the fall of 2008 and ended with the collapse of production, investment and international trade [9]. The recession caused a drop in transport demand, spreading the crisis to the shipping.…”

“…The main operating costs are: fuel and lubricants, crew costs, maintenance, spare parts, consumables, etc. [9].…”

“…Technological development of shipbuilding, port terminals and port equipment, world trade agreements, customs regulations, easier access to financial loans, as a direct result of improved communication and IT support, were fundamental factors in the smooth development of the international economy, trade and container transport [9].…”

Crises and Their Effects on Freight Transport Modes: A Literature Review and Research Framework

“…The panic buying during the first lockdowns of the COVID-19 crisis emphasised the enormous importance of a working supply chain and, in particular, transport system [9]. However, different crises have had varying effects on the maritime, air, inland waterway, railway, and road transport modes, with some of them being more drastically hit than other modes, such as with the sharp decline in maritime transport during the financial crisis [10,11]. According to Jerebić and Pavlin [10], the maritime container market was hit strongly and plummeted by 35% compared to the same period in 2008.…”

“…However, different crises have had varying effects on the maritime, air, inland waterway, railway, and road transport modes, with some of them being more drastically hit than other modes, such as with the sharp decline in maritime transport during the financial crisis [10,11]. According to Jerebić and Pavlin [10], the maritime container market was hit strongly and plummeted by 35% compared to the same period in 2008. Until now, the investigation of how previous crises affected the various transport modes and what we can learn for future crises has hardly been discussed, even if the timeliness of the topic is high.…”