Econometric Analyses of Container Market and Capacity Development

The container liner shipping market has become more volatile and concentrated because of the uncertainties in the world economic development and carriers¿ pursuit of scale economies and larger market shares. Although these issues have attracted considerable attention in the container liner shipping industry, few studies focus on market fluctuations and the decision factors for liner companies¿ capacity expansion. This book consists of a dynamic market analysis, and an examination of carrier capacity expansion and ship investment behavior in the container liner shipping market. The dynamic market analysis models the fluctuation of the container freight rate and fleet capacity using simultaneous equations and which could help to forecast the dynamic movement of the market. The capacity expansion behavior of individual carriers is examined using panel data methods to help identify all the possible factors influencing liners¿ capacity expansion decision and market concentration. The ship investment decisions are analyzed using Logit models which investigates the liners¿ decision process and factors influencing their specific choice of ships.