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THE\U^HFYEARBOOK • ContaIn ERship MARkET Report The New Age of Containerization While the 1970s could be called the decade of the tanker, and the 1980s that of the bulk carrier, without a doubt the 1990s will be most widely recognized in maritime circles as that of the container- ship. Explosive fleet growth — from 1.768 million TEU in 1990 to more than five million TEU estimated by 2001 (source: Clarkson Research Studies) — photo credit: Walter Garschagen -1998 coupled with corporate consolidations has conspired to create operational and cost efficiencies that promise to drive the industry for the next decade as well. Until the early 1990s, fixtures in the containership market were not even equal to that of the Handymax bulker segment. In 1980, the entire fleet was comprised of 750 ships, versus the 1,800 recorded by the end of 1995. While the move to containerization has been pronounced, it has been marred by rate instability due in large to the almost surreal level of newbuilding activity in the early- and mid-1990s. In analyzing the Container Market Movements in its report. Maritime Industry - Spring 2000 Outlook, ING Barings notes that there has been a noticeable shift in the owner- ship profile of the orderbook between the charter owners and the operators owners (liner) over the past 12 months or so, a trend which ING Barings rea- sons indicates superior strength and profitability in the charter market. While the top 20 owner operators still control more than 50 percent of current containership fleet capacity, with the top 20 charter owners controlling roughly 18 percent, the orderbook at year-end 1999 reveals a control ship: the top 20 liner companies' portion of new orders dropped to about 43 percent from 52 percent, with the top 20 charter owners picking up the slack. In its report, ING Barings classifies the containership market development in the following four phases: Phase 1 (1993-1996): Rapid Matura- tion: In the early 1990s, containership demand was met with a new design, big- (Continued on page 100) You Didn't Get Into the Marine Industry to Face Difficult Operational Challenges. . . We did. Circle 272 on Reader Service Card JtMivumce Sivcetif • Hull & Machinery • Appeal Bond • P&l • Admirality Bond • USL&H • Performance & Payment • Jones Act • Stipulation for Costs • CGL • Limitation of Liability • Stevedore Legal • General Average Bond JBL Trinity Group, Ltd. Phone 17 State Street, 16th Floor Fax New York, New York 10004 E-mail Joseph DiMattina, President Web 212-269-6262 212-269-6611 j bltrinity@aol.com www.jbltrinity.com Circle 399 on Reader Service Card 60
