An Analysis of the Competitiveness of Major Liner Shipping Companies

This paper investigated if differences of the profits of the Korean and other global shipping companies were affected by the shipping route specialization. A panel data model was applied to nine shipping companies during the 2009-2015 period, to determine to what extent freight rate, bunker fuel prices, scale economies and chartered vessel ratios affected the profits. The results showed freight rate exerted a significant positive impact and bunker fuel price a significant negative effect on the profits. However, scale economies' effects and chartered vessel ratios were insignificant or at best obscure, thus requiring a more in-depth study in this direction.