Pricing becoming “shakier”, further consolidation and alliance adjustments are among predictions for the global container shipping industry made by the JOC.com media outlet, following what it describes as “one of the wildest years in container shipping history”.
“Within one year, the industry witnessed the largest bankruptcy in liner history with Hanjin Shipping, historically low spot rates, the narrowing of the top 20 global container lines to 14 and the dramatic reorganisation of global shipping lines into new, larger vessel-sharing agreements,” it states.
“With the industry in such a dynamic state, 2017 will likely hold its own surprises.”
The Newark (United States)-based media outlet is also predicting a squaring off between labour and employers in American ports and big ships testing that country’s port infrastructure, as well as terminals and ports banding together on the global scene.
On the latter point, JOC.com comments that having observed the operational and cost efficiencies containerlines are generating by teaming up with rivals, ports and terminals around the world have begun to follow suit.
“The ports of Seattle and Tacoma joined forces in 2015 to improve productivity and eliminate excess capacity, and the end of 2016 saw a flurry of activity among ports and container terminals seeking to form co-operation agreements.
“Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) chairman Mario Cordero has said there will be more agreements like these in the future …
“On the other side of the globe, a number of terminals in Hong Kong are uniting in a bid to stop the steady decline of trans-shipment volumes at the port.”
11
Jan