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So for the fleet picture we can see that
there has indeed been some movement in terms
of market share among the top 20 shipping,
which have as a group expanded their market
share. However, within the top 10 little
has changed, and nothing of consequence.
But of course, the above only factors
in the actual capacity to carry cargo. Now
let's see if there have been any significant
changes in the actual liftings for the shipping
lines.
In the below pie graph we can see the
various carriers' market share in terms
of volumes carried at the end of last year.
click image to enlarge
The so-called "big 3" Maersk
Line, MSC and CMA CGM are the market leaders,
but not as clearly as they were when we
looked at capacity alone.
Maersk leads the group with a share of
12 per cent, while MSC holds nine per cent
against CMA CGM's seven per cent market
share. This makes for a combined lifting
market share of 28 per cent among the top
three, compared with the 38 per cent share
they held for capacity alone.
This discrepancy, says one analyst, can
be explained by the fact that these lines
focus more on the long haul trades, and
therefore naturally carry fewer cargoes
as their ships are tied up for longer periods
before taking on new cargo than the short
haul carriers.
We see with Mitsui OSK Line (MOL), which
is a top 10 carrier in terms of capacity,
but is not a top 10 carrier when it comes
to liftings. The opposite is true for Hong
Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line
(OOCL), which is a top 10 carrier for liftings,
not for capacity.
MOL, for example, is a market leader
in the Asia-East Coast South America market,
a service that requires 12 vessels per loop,
and is one of the longest routes in the
world. MOL also operates the service independently
of others, while most carriers operating
on the route are doing so in league with
other lines.
MOL also operates services from Asia
to West Africa, as well as eastern and southern
Africa. It also calls on a number of niche
ports that even the top three don't call
at.
Cosco and CSCL, on the other hand, whose
capacity gives them four per cent market
share each, they boast a five per cent market
share when it comes to actual liftings.
Both of these carriers operate a number
of short-sea services, while their long
haul services operate on the more predictable
long haul routes of Asia-Europe and the
transpacific.
The pie chart also shows that the world's
top 20 carriers held a market share of 57
per cent in terms of volumes lifted, against
63 per cent for capacity operated.
Again this makes sense when we consider
that the top 20 carriers will operate on
longer haul routes than those outside of
the top 20 that would stick to more regional
tradesˇXIntra-Asia, Intra-Europe, North
America-Latin America, for example.
While we don't have the latest carrying
figures for 2012, we can look at the general
evolution in liftings over the past few
years to determine whether there is a trend
among the larger lines to be grabbing more
of the cargo, and the smaller carriers being
squeezed out.
click image to enlarge
Here we see that from 2009 to 2011 the
biggest increase in carrying market share
came from CSAV with 75 per cent growth;
followed by Hamburg Sud with 35 per cent;
Cosco at 32 per cent, APL at 30 per cent
and Hanjin.
Of those that led in market share growth,
most were suffering losses in the first
quarter of this year, and some even through
to the second quarter as well, which points
to the perils of chasing market share over
profit.
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