Analysis on Industrial Structure and Competitive Strategies in Liner Shipping Industry

The demand for maritime transport is derived primarily from the needs of industrial processes. Therefore, the boom and bust in the shipping market are typically motivated by the global economic situation. Under such an unpredictable and uncertain circumstance, for striving for a competitive position in market, explicit strategies are very significant to liner shipping companies. This paper investigates trends in liner shipping industry and analyzes the industrial structure by five forces analysis. By means of five forces analysis, competitive rivalry and barging power of buyers show a relatively strong force in liner shipping industry. At last, seven competitive strategies are proposed for liner shipping companies by taking into account of critical forces and trend in liner shipping industry.