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PortEconomics
  • September 24th, 2023
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The 2M breakup; (how) will it affect ports?Containers

The 2M breakup; (how) will it affect ports?

March 10th, 2023 Containers, Featured, Viewpoints

maritimafrica.com

READ ALSO

Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia
Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia
The strategy of the port development company: a business ecosystem perspective
The strategy of the port development company: a business ecosystem perspective
Circular economy indicators for ports
Circular economy indicators for ports
As expected, large containerships are arriving in Latin America
As expected, large containerships are arriving in Latin America

Comment by PortEconomics member Peter de Langen:

The 2M breakup in 2025, announced recently, came a bit as a surprise, though especially Maersk portrays it as a logical consequence of their integrator strategy. This integrator strategy implies a focus on providing a larger bundle of services than just shipping.

As a consequence, Maersk needs to control its operations to be able to offer reliability and being able to adjust to disruptions that may emerge. Maersk has been able to grow their integrator volumes substantially the last few years, partly because the scarcity of containers and shipping capacity made it easier to strike long term agreements with shippers.

However, Maersk’s annual report shows Maersk roughly provides land transport for one out of three containers it transports by sea, while it provides logistics services for roughly one out of ten containers in transport by sea. Especially when it comes to land transport, Maersk’s share is not higher than that of MSC. In addition, there are huge differences in the service provision of both in different regions/countries/ports. Therefore, it is problematic for any carrier, including Maersk, to claim to have the best overall logistics value proposition across all important markets.

All of these imply that the maritime service network of shipping lines continues to be a competitive differentiator and perhaps even the most important differentiator for shipping lines. Given MSC has a much larger orderbook than Maersk, and that Maersk’s capacity once 2M is over is lower than that of the two remaining main alliances, this leaves Maersk in a bit of a vulnerable position.

Unless a main shake-up of the other alliances or a take-over occurs, ports will be looking to ensure they have a strong involvement of MSC (through TIL) and Maersk (through APMT) in their port. This is especially relevant given their increasing focus on either a door-to-door or a more extended integrated logistics service bundle. Ports that already have terminals of both (like Rotterdam, Valencia, and Bremerhaven in Europe) may be positioned to benefit from the 2M breakup. And once more, ports and terminal companies are reminded not to take the existing alliance structure for granted; only change is constant.

 

The comment was first published in Port Strategy

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Peter de Langen

Dr. Peter de Langen is the owner and principal consultant of Ports & Logistics Advisory, based in Malaga, Spain and established in 2013. Peter de Langen is part-time professor at Copenhagen Business School and held a part-time position as professor Cargo Transport & Logistics, at Eindhoven University of Technology, from 2009 to 2016, From 2007 to 2013, Peter worked at Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoR), department Corporate Strategy as senior advisor. From 1997 to 2007, he worked at Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Peter is co-director of the knowledge dissemination platform www.porteconomics.eu, co-organiser of conferences and training events and regular speaker at industry conferences on ports and shipping.

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Sep 21st 11:34 AM
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As expected, large containerships are arriving in Latin America

Sep 11th 9:46 AM
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IAPH World Ports Tracker Q2 2023: more port calls with less cargo, truck driver shortages appear; overall liner trade connectivity improves

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