ANALYSIS OF CONTAINER VOLUME OF NORTH AMERICAN ROUTE BY PORT AND BY SHIPPING ALLIANCE

Abstract

 East Asian ports have increased their container volumes based on rapid economic development in recent years. Thereby, the numbers of direct services calling at Japanese ports have decreased. Shipping alliances/companies arrange their container services, such as TEU capacity and frequency, based on the target cargo volume. This study analyzed the relation between ship capacity and container volume of each shipping alliance in North American route. The result indicated that ship capacity had strong correlation with cargo volume and the average load factors (L/F) were around 50 to 70%. L/Fs of Japanese ports were almost below the averages of whole East Asia; however, they were reversed or in the same level if the containers were restricted to west bound or direct services. In addition, the target container volume to maintain and increase direct services were calculated.