Steamship lines

The U.S. water transportation industry consists of steamship lines involved in deep sea transportation, as well as services that move cargo through lakes and inland rivers.

For deep sea transportation, rising trade volumes are expected to lead to a stronger performance and higher demand. U.S.-owned steamship lines face competitive pressures from foreign owned lines, and as a result have been involved in mergers of strategic alliances. For domestic shipping, long-term improvements will depend on the movement of additional tonnage that could result from current agricultural subsidy and increased oil exports. However, declining domestic petroleum production and reliance on pipelines for petroleum movements would have a dampening effect on the growth of the domestic segment of the industry.

Shippers are always looking for the lowest rate and the most efficient method of transporting their cargo. The ocean containership industry has met that challenge by building larger and faster containerships. The shipper could be the winner, but only if the rest of the transportation and distribution chain is able to make equally impressive cost-effective changes, particularly at the intermodal connecting points where two or more modes meet.

Available data on vessels on order demonstrate the trend towards greater use of larger vessels. A total of 38 post-Panamax (larger than can use the Panama Canal) vessels are in operation, 54 are on order and the construction of 27 additional vessels is under consideration. In addition, 60 Panamax size (maximum size that can transit the canal) containerships are on order, and 21 more will probably be ordered in the next few years.

Unless the entire transportation and distribution system enjoys equal economies of scale in its operations, the advantages gained from the larger ships will not be fully realized.

To accommodate the requirements brought on by bigger, faster ships, some of the largest carriers are building marine terminals that incorporate the latest in intermodal concepts and technologies. American Pacific Lines, for example, is constructing an on-deck rail operation designed to improve the cost efficiency and reliability of intermodal transfer operation. Other terminal operators, some of whom .may or may not be connected directly to one of the carriers, are developing and operating what could be considered the so-called “steamless terminal”. These terminals allow the container to move directly off the ship and out the front gate without stopping along the way in the terminal, based on pre-clearance of documentation via EDI (electronic data interchange). This form of just-in-time (JIT) type of movement parallels very closely what is already becoming the standard for cargo shipments in other parts of the logistics chain.

Conventional containerships can still take advantage of existing facilities. Niche carriers, with more traditional-sized vessels (2,000 to 4,000 TEUs¹²), will continue to call at ports that are not capable of handling these very large containerships. This is especially true on trade routes that need to cater to consumer requirements for more frequent and smaller-volume shipments. Meanwhile, the potential exists for faster, but smaller containerships, such as FASTSHIP, capable of crossing the North Atlantic in three and a half days. For the shipper, this could mean a reduction in inventory time and cost, especially important for high-value products such as electronic components, and automobiles.

Containership carriers are also looking at combining or sharing operations and other activities to reduce operating costs through mergers or the development of consortiums and partnerships. These working agreements include sharing vessels space, marine terminal facilities and equipment, and marketing staffs to reduce duplication of assets and operation costs. In terms of price, however, they would still have to compete with each other. These consortiums and alliances are in direct competition with carriers that compete independently or are members of the now-threatened conference system, that was originally established to stabilize vessel-use and avoid ruinous competition. For the shipper, these agreements have very little effect on the actual movement of the cargo because the carrier and the bill of lading that it issues will control the level of service and reliability.