The Nigerian shipping industry and indigenous shipping companies

The shipping industry in Nigeria since the early 1990s has been experiencing a continuous disastrous downturn. Nigerian shipping companies' participation in international shipping has continued to be very limited. Their presence and impact is hardly felt in the world's shipping industry. Both the national carriers (that is shipping companies with national carrier status) and other indigenous private shipping companies have vessel as well as management problems. These problems have led to the poor performance of the Nigerian shipping industry for over a decade now. The carriers in the industry are not attaining for the country the gains that are supposed to emanate from shipping. This paper points out the importance of shipping to a nation, identifies the problems the country's shipping companies are facing and proffers solutions that include merging of the companies to have strong financial standing and a competitive edge.     

船公司管理方略

对国际些船公司的经营管理理念的分析,可以发现它们的一些特色和变化趋势,从中值得我国船公司在经营策略调整时作为借鉴.     

Strategic re-thinking in shipping companies

This article proposes a framework for how successful shipping companies can develop strategies for growth and take advantage of business opportunities. It is essential to strengthen strategy implementation to trigger faster, internallygenerated and profitable business growth. Formal planning and control systems, as they traditionally exist in shipping companies, need to be modified to allow for such growth. The forward-thinkers, the truly dynamic companies, will be able to perceive business opportunities before anyone else, mobilize their people, and implement the necessary strategies. In doing so, a balance must be struck between the everyday and visionary focus, between the top-down and bottom-up focus, between the business and corporate portfolio focus. Shipping companies can learn from the example of the progressive business leaders in other fields, capitalizing on their way to succeed and grow, by developing a dual capability to ‘see’ new opportunities and to ‘mobilize’ the relevant organizational resources to implement these. Examples from successful shipping companies are provided.     

Strategic re-thinking in shipping companies

This article proposes a framework for how successful shipping companies can develop strategies for growth and take advantage of business opportunities. It is essential to strengthen strategy implementation to trigger faster, internallygenerated and profitable business growth. Formal planning and control systems, as they traditionally exist in shipping companies, need to be modified to allow for such growth. The forward-thinkers, the truly dynamic companies, will be able to perceive business opportunities before anyone else, mobilize their people, and implement the necessary strategies. In doing so, a balance must be struck between the everyday and visionary focus, between the top-down and bottom-up focus, between the business and corporate portfolio focus. Shipping companies can learn from the example of the progressive business leaders in other fields, capitalizing on their way to succeed and grow, by developing a dual capability to 'see' new opportunities and to 'mobilize' the relevant organizational resources to implement these. Examples from successful shipping companies are provided.     

Incident reporting in Finnish shipping companies

The purpose of the International Safety Management Code (the ISM Code) is to promote safety culture in the maritime industry. Learning the lessons from incidents should help to improve safety performance since incidents and accidents can share the same root causes. The aim of this paper is to take a closer look at incident reporting in the Finnish shipping industry, to study the reasons for poor incident reporting and to suggest improvements to increase reporting. The paper consists of a literature study, which focuses on previous studies concerning incident reporting, and an interview study, which focuses on Finnish shipping companies and their personnel. The interview study confirmed that incident reporting does not function properly within the Finnish maritime industry. The maritime personnel have an occupational culture which is incompatible with the rule-based safety management approach provided by the ISM Code. The willingness to report incidents could be increased if all seafarers were involved in the reporting process and the preparation of corrective actions. In addition, the reporting procedures should be streamlined and developed to a more user-friendly direction.     

Factors that promote innovation in shipping companies

This study seeks to identify factors that promote innovation in shipping companies. The study is based on an empirical investigation of 63 companies headquartered in Norway. The results imply that organizational and interorganizational variables are important to innovation. Three aspects of innovation are focused on: (1) service/product innovations, (2) market innovations, and (3) production method innovations. The explanatory variables that are applied in this study capture between 13-51% of the variability of the measures of innovation. The results indicate that an explicit strategy that promotes innovation is very important for the actual level of innovation within shipping companies. In management literature, it is often assumed that organic organizational features like decentralized decision-making promote innovation. The opposite features are assumed to restrain innovation. However, the results do not support these basic assumptions. For example, it seems to be important that managers make precise decisions in order to promote innovation.     

港航合作,共谋发展

尊敬的各位嘉宾,女士们、先生们：大家好!首先,非常感谢大会主办方邀请我出席今天的会议并作大会主题演讲,与港航各界的朋友一起探讨内河航运的趋势,并共同谋求合作发展的道路。在此,请允许我代表中远集运,对论坛的隆重召开表示热烈祝贺,并预祝大会取得圆满成功。今天我报告的主题是“港航合作,共谋发展”,共分为3个部分。     

Factors that promote innovation in shipping companies

This study seeks to identify factors that promote innovation in shipping companies. The study is based on an empirical investigation of 63 companies headquartered in Norway. The results imply that organizational and interorganizational variables are important to innovation. Three aspects of innovation are focused on: (1) service/product innovations, (2) market innovations, and (3) production method innovations. The explanatory variables that are applied in this study capture between 13–51% of the variability of the measures of innovation. The results indicate that an explicit strategy that promotes innovation is very important for the actual level of innovation within shipping companies. In management literature, it is often assumed that organic organizational features like decentralized decision-making promote innovation. The opposite features are assumed to restrain innovation. However, the results do not support these basic assumptions. For example, it seems to be important that managers make precise decisions in order to promote innovation.     

Complexity theory applied to management of shipping companies

Theory of complexity , in the author's opinion, describes life better than the hitherto available theories, as it deals more effectively with dynamic, non-linear and cyclical phenomena. The author will here attempt the application of the theory of complexity to the management of shipping companies , especially those of Greek management style. This paper will also deal with the relationship of competition in shipping. The question that will be put and answered is whether a firm should be a hierarchical, inflexible structure, ordered from above. If, however, a company is seen as a self-organized emerging order, then a new approach must be adopted, i.e. that of complexity theory. The choice of the above combination is because a shipping environment is indeed unpredictable, volatile, cyclical and international, as well as complex. It is believed that this new theory can yield a new, more pragmatic, insight into the way shipping companies and ships should be managed. The innovative element of this work is that it will be the first time internationally (except for the work of Li and Parsons [1]) that the theory of complexity will be applied to shipping. In addition, no previous attempts have been made to apply this theory to management of shipping companies.     

金融危机下船公司的低价竞争策略是否有效？

自2008年下半年美国次贷危机爆发以来，国际经贸形势急剧恶化，各主要经济体纷纷采取贸易保护措施，导致国际贸易大幅萎缩，国际贸易和海运业的下降态势在短期内无法得到遏制。在美国次贷危机引发的国际金融危机的影响下，全球集装箱运量下降，而船公司在航运景气时期订造的大型船舶目前陆续竣工，市场供需严重失衡，直接导致运价大幅下滑，集装箱船公司普遍面临较大的经营压力。在这种情况下，     

The performance effect of innovation in shipping companies

The aim of this study is to investigate how innovation contributes to company performance in Norwegian shipping and to extend our knowledge concerning what organizational and inter-organizational factors influence innovation in shipping firms. The study is based on a survey of 46 Norwegian shipping companies. We find that innovation contributes to firm performance. We also find that a conscious strategy, strategy involvement, external relationships, especially market relationships, and productivity slack have a significant positive effect on the degree of innovation. The results are dependent upon the companies' degree of differentiation and the type of innovation.     

我国航运企业发展汽车海运物流策略

为寻求我国航运企业发展汽车海运物流的有效策略,通过对国内外汽车海运市场及我国航运企业自身特点的分析,构建SWOT分析矩阵;认为我国航运企业要积极谋求同汽车厂商及国外汽车物流企业的合作,积极投资汽车码头等相关基础设施的建设,构建和完善汽车物流服务体系;在船队的建设上走多元化的合作道路,坚持新造船与旧船改造、自有与租赁并举的策略,通过同国外汽车海运企业的合作,学习其船队经营管理经验,充分利用其现有的航线和市场资源,壮大自身实力;强调要充分把握我国市场,走多元化的合作道路,避免恶性竞争。     

The performance effect of innovation in shipping companies

The aim of this study is to investigate how innovation contributes to company performance in Norwegian shipping and to extend our knowledge concerning what organizational and inter-organizational factors influence innovation in shipping firms. The study is based on a survey of 46 Norwegian shipping companies. We find that innovation contributes to firm performance. We also find that a conscious strategy, strategy involvement, external relationships, especially market relationships, and productivity slack have a significant positive effect on the degree of innovation. The results are dependent upon the companies’ degree of differentiation and the type of innovation.     

“后危机时代”航运公司的战略选择

以2007年3月13日全美第二大次级抵押贷款机构--新世纪金融公司濒临破产为标志,拉开了上世纪三十年代以来的最为严重的一次金融危机的序幕.一年半以来,在世界各国的共同努力下,全球金融体系趋稳,全球经济下滑势头受到了初步遏制.尤其是中国政府实施了大规模的经济刺激计划,使中国经济仍保持了较高的增长速度,为世界经济发展做出了贡献.     

中国航运融资创新及探索

尽管我国航运业、造船业飞速发展，但金融业由于船舶融资方面人才奇缺、有创意的金融衍生工具短缺、服务手段落后、审批时间冗长、手续繁琐进而限制了航运业发展，也限制了上海、大连航运中心地位的突破性提升。一些航运企业，尤其中小航运企业在国内贷款十分困难，只能把目光投向海外银行。[第一段]     

日本三大海运公司发展策略

日本邮船、商船三井和川崎汽船是日本的三大上市海运集团（以下简称三大公司），经过百年发展，成为日本目前仅有的三家包括班轮、油船、散货运输等多种运输方式的大海运公司。多年来，三大公司品牌在航运界享有盛名。集装箱运输是三大公司中的一个分支，其随着集团的发展而发展，但和其他运输方式相比，集装箱运输相对较弱，在集团中并不具有优势。     

Meta-frontier function approach to operational efficiency for shipping companies

ABSTRACT

This study uses a meta-frontier function approach to estimate operational efficiency and technology gaps for shipping companies. Researchers have evaluated the relative efficiency of shipping firms with the assumption that shipping firms operate under one frontier technology. However, the assumption of one frontier technology is being argued by efficiency literature. Therefore, this study estimates relative efficiency of shipping firms in different market segments (dry bulk, liquid bulk, and containerized cargo), possibly operating with different technologies and, hence, under different frontiers. This study uses a meta-frontier function approach that allows us to distinguish separate frontiers for different groups and decompose efficiency scores relative to the meta-frontier. Data used in this study is collected from Thomson One Banker from 2001-2013 in the form of unbalanced panel data. Empirical results suggest that dry bulk firms’ production technology is more advanced than others and the production frontier is the closest to that of the meta-frontier. In addition, efficiency scores are all low, but containerized cargo firms achieve higher technological efficiency than the other two groups. It is also suggested that containerized cargo and liquid bulk firms should prioritize improvements in their production technology and dry bulk firms should prioritize improving group efficiency.     

The relative efficiency and financial risk assessment of shipping companies

Since shipping companies are highly competitive, we ask whether financial risk assessment tools impact company performance and, therefore competitiveness and efficiency. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) is used in the evaluation. Based on distinct features of the risk-return relationship, three cargo segments in the shipping industry are studied—dry bulk, liquid bulk, and containerized cargo. The influence of the risk assessment indicators on market and operational efficiency is subsequently determined using a panel regression to determine whether different asset allocation and risk management techniques improve the performance of shipping companies. In this analysis, 79 international shipping companies listed in Bloomberg Shipping Indices are included in the data collected from Thomson One for the period of 2001–2010. Efficiency estimation from the SFA shows that containerized cargo firms have better performance in both market and operating efficiencies. Operating efficiency performance is achieved by lowering liquidity. Market efficiency is improved by well-managed leverage level.     

The adaptation of the Polish shipping companies to market conditions

At the end of the eighties, fundamental changes took place in Polish shipping. Implementation of the market economy system was at first demonstrated in the introduction of the principles of self-dependence, self-government and self-financing of the shipping companies. Privatization performed a key role in the program of transformation of the centrally planned system into market oriented financially independent shipping organizations. The previous principle of the necessary participation of the home fleet in transporting domestic sea-borne trade has been mostly replaced by cross-trade. Many shipping services have left its basic ports in the country for a West European basis, securing alimentation of home and transit cargoes by feeder–service systems. Joint stock companies in shipping with substantial shares of foreign capital are welcomed, and the previously obligatory system of administrative methods of the state monopoly has been abolished. The principles of shipping policy represented in the past by Poland and also by UNCTAD in the 1960s have lost their impact and must be change and adapted to the new demands of the shipping markets.     

The adaptation of the Polish shipping companies to market conditions

At the end of the eighties, fundamental changes took place in Polish shipping. Implementation of the market economy system was at first demonstrated in the introduction of the principles of self-dependence, self-government and self-financing of the shipping companies. Privatization performed a key role in the program of transformation of the centrally planned system into market oriented financially independent shipping organizations. The previous principle of the necessary participation of the home fleet in transporting domestic sea-borne trade has been mostly replaced by cross-trade. Many shipping services have left its basic ports in the country for a West European basis, securing alimentation of home and transit cargoes by feeder-service systems. Joint stock companies in shipping with substantial shares of foreign capital are welcomed, and the previously obligatory system of administrative methods of the state monopoly has been abolished. The principles of shipping policy represented in the past by Poland and also by UNCTAD in the 1960s have lost their impact and must be change and adapted to the new demands of the shipping markets.