THE EFFECTS OF THE MARKET CONCENTRATION IN THE MARITIME TRANSPORT ON THE STRATEGIES OF THE CONTAINER TERMINAL OPERATORS. IN: MARITIME ENGINEERING AND PORTS III

The aim of this paper is to show the first results of research about the strategic behavior of the global stevedoring companies over the last few years. The investigation will be focused on the strategic decisions of the top management of the main container terminal operators. The paper will try to evaluate the impact of the strategies of the global terminal operators in the different markets and geographical areas, highlighting on the one hand the burden of investment in assets, focused on the increase in productivity and in the terminal capacity, and on the other hand the influence on the traffic flows, especially referred to the transhipment terminals. As regards the main container terminals, weak and strong points related to the operating activities and the management problems will also be underlined. A particular attention will be paid to the study of the vertical integration of some global carriers along the transport chain.