SHIPPING COMPANY STRATEGIES

The maritime industry of today is special and very fascinating. We consider it special because of the global nature of the industry, as well as huge investments required and highly cyclical markets - moreover, because of the unique competitive structure of the industry with so many determined players participating. From the other side, it is very fascinating because the fortunes and made - and sometimes lost - at a very fast pace.

The present publication is the outcome of the several forces that shaped the interest of the author in shipping companies and their business strategies. The rationale for this volume would be the proper understanding of the success of global shipping companies. That is why t is directly relevant to the people active in the shipping industry. The book also provides the information on how to manage in today's face of global turbulence. Such understanding will be the key not only for the industry executives but also to the professionals from the other corporations and industries.

The book is arranged in six chapters - first one sets out key strategic challenges of a shipping company, while in the second chapter we discuss the commodity-based strategies. The next chapters are discussing the moves toward niche strategies and the overall portfolio strategies, several organizational issues and, finally, the last chapter is dealing with the ownership side, making emphasis on the benefits that shipping company can make from being public...