• Home
  • About
    • Members
    • Associate Members
  • Thematic Areas
    • Containers
    • Cruise
    • European Port Policy
    • Ports & COVID-19
  • PortStudies
  • Presentations
  • Noticeboard
  • Viewpoints
  • PortLibrary
  • PortReport
PortEconomics
  • June 1st, 2023
PortEconomics
  • Home
  • About
    • Members
    • Associate Members
  • Thematic Areas
    • Containers
    • Cruise
    • European Port Policy
    • Ports & COVID-19
  • PortStudies
    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

    Towards a prioritization of alternative energy sources for sustainable shipping

    Towards a prioritization of alternative energy sources for sustainable shipping

    Operational productivity and financial performance: pure transhipment hubs vs gateway terminals

    Operational productivity and financial performance: pure transhipment hubs vs gateway terminals

  • Presentations
    Socio-economic impact of cruise on Thessaloniki

    Socio-economic impact of cruise on Thessaloniki

    Latest IAPH World Ports Tracker: supply chain crunch over, ports invest in infrastructure, energy transition and sustainability

    Latest IAPH World Ports Tracker: supply chain crunch over, ports invest in infrastructure, energy transition and sustainability

    Top-15 container ports in the European Union in Q3, 2023

    Top-15 container ports in the European Union in Q3, 2023

    Geographic diversification of international terminal operators

    Geographic diversification of international terminal operators

    Port integrity commitments and corruption risks in different shipping markets

    Port integrity commitments and corruption risks in different shipping markets

  • Noticeboard
    Call for Abstracts: International Academic Conference on Shipping, Sustainability & Solutions

    Call for Abstracts: International Academic Conference on Shipping, Sustainability & Solutions

    Transitions: readiness and challenges in the shipping industry

    Transitions: readiness and challenges in the shipping industry

    PortEconomics members to analyze port strategy and performance in the new global scenario

    PortEconomics members to analyze port strategy and performance in the new global scenario

    Developing China’s ports, how the gateways to economic prosperity were revived

    Developing China’s ports, how the gateways to economic prosperity were revived

    Appreciation:   PortEconomics attracted 63.006 unique visitors in 2021

    Appreciation: PortEconomics attracted 63.006 unique visitors in 2021

  • Viewpoints
    Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022

    Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022

    Port Connectivity; Piraeus in the global sea transport network

    Port Connectivity; Piraeus in the global sea transport network

    Deep uncertainty and decision-making in ports and shipping

    Deep uncertainty and decision-making in ports and shipping

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

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

    The future of alliances: impediments for liners involved

    The future of alliances: impediments for liners involved

  • PortLibrary
  • PortReport
The future of alliances: impediments for liners involvedContainers

The future of alliances: impediments for liners involved

January 26th, 2023 Containers, Featured, Thematic Area, Viewpoints

READ ALSO

Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022
Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022
Latest IAPH World Ports Tracker: supply chain crunch over, ports invest in infrastructure, energy transition and sustainability
Latest IAPH World Ports Tracker: supply chain crunch over, ports invest in infrastructure, energy transition and sustainability
Towards a prioritization of alternative energy sources for sustainable shipping
Towards a prioritization of alternative energy sources for sustainable shipping
Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia
Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia

“MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and A.P. Moller – Maersk announced they have mutually agreed to discontinue the 2M alliance, set to end in January 2025. This implies that the 10-year agreement which was signed in 2015 will not be extended.

In a presentation on the future of #alliances in container shipping delivered on May 10, 2022, during the FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations “Market Structure and Maritime Competition” Webinar Series, PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom already underlined that there is a very strong focus on the role of regulation – the EU Block Exemption Regulation or BER in particular – when assessing the future of alliances.

Theo Notteboom details his viewpoint following the announcement of the discontinuation of 2M following the conclusion of the ten years agreement in 2025:

“We often overlook the role played by internal drivers and impediments of alliance membership to the carriers:

(A) While the three alliances currently in existence (2M, THE Alliance, and Ocean Alliance) play a key role in capacity management on the main East-West routes, carriers show an increased level of pragmatism when setting up vessel sharing aggreements with other carriers on these and other trade routes;

(B) Alliances imply a certain loss of strategic and operational independence when designing joint liner services or selecting ports of call, resulting in sometimes hefty negotiations between alliance members (see our paper https://lnkd.in/eQC7KEan on the role of terminal ownership of alliance members on port choice);

(C) Alliance membership becomes more difficult to reconcile with far-reaching vertical integration strategies of carriers. Both Maersk and MSC have taken distinctive steps in this direction in the past few years (see our recent paper https://lnkd.in/eftD2GHJ for a more detailed analysis on logistics integration by Maersk and MSC);

(D) Alliances typically play a strong role in company survival during depressed market conditions. However, the added value of alliances might be less obvious during ‘good times’ when carriers enjoy healthy financial positions; 

(E) Alliance membership can overcome a lack of economies of scale and network effects of individual carriers. The more extensive the global service network of a member becomes, the less benefits alliances bring in this respect.

Theo Notteboom

You might read more on the impediments for the carriers involved in alliances by visiting the www.porteconomicsmanagement.org: Main Impediments for Carriers to be Involved in Alliances

Feel free to share

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article Seaports as green hydrogen hubs: advances, opportunities and challenges in Europe
Previous article Logistics integration strategies in container shipping: a multiple case-study on Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM

Related Posts

Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia Featured

Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia

Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022 Category

Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022

Port Connectivity; Piraeus in the global sea transport network Category

Port Connectivity; Piraeus in the global sea transport network

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Weekly Timeline
May 24th 7:04 AM
Featured

Innovation ecosystems in ports: a comparative analysis of Rotterdam and Valencia

May 17th 11:34 AM
Category

Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022

May 17th 1:19 AM
Category

Port Connectivity; Piraeus in the global sea transport network

Apr 27th 12:17 PM
Category

The strategy of the port development company: a business ecosystem perspective

Apr 27th 11:10 AM
Category

Socio-economic impact of cruise on Thessaloniki

Tweets by @PortEconomics
  • Containers
  • Cruise
  • EPP
  • Ports & COVID-19
  • Back to top
About PortEconomics

PortEconomics is a web-based initiative aiming to advance knowledge exchange on seaport studies. Established by maritime economists affiliated to academic institutions in Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands. It provides freely accessible research, education, information, and network-building material on critical issues of port economics, management and policies.

Additional Information
  • About
  • Login
  • Register
  • Edit Profile
  • Privacy policy
  • Contact us
  • PortProfessionals
  • PortReport Series
© PortEconomics 2020. All rights reserved.
Produced by PortEconomics