Building Resilient Supply Chains in a Changing Environment
Businesses need to enhance supply chain resilience by leveraging smart technologies and risk management to tackle economic uncertainties and challenges.
Businesses need to enhance supply chain resilience by leveraging smart technologies and risk management to tackle economic uncertainties and challenges.
The global shipping industry is undergoing significant mergers and restructuring. Following the merger of China Ocean Shipping and China Shipping, it has become the world's fourth-largest container shipping company. Meanwhile, the CMA CGM Group is also seeking to acquire Neptune Orient Lines in Singapore. The mergers of several shipping companies will reshape the current alliances and impact market competitiveness. Despite the challenging market conditions, shipping companies face pressures from overcapacity and declining demand, necessitating proactive measures to address future challenges.
An international air freight company completed a self-inspection of its safety transport management to enhance its safety assurance capabilities. Through hazard identification and rectification, the company aims to further strengthen safety management and effectively prevent accidents during transportation. The self-inspection report indicates that the implementation of safety protocols is satisfactory, and there is a notable improvement in safety awareness. In the future, the company will continue to advance its safety initiatives to maintain ongoing vigilance.
South Korea has established a $1.2 billion shipping fund to support the recovery of its shipping companies, emphasizing the need to control debt ratios. The relevant legislation must be approved by the National Assembly.
COSCO Shipping and China Shipping are expected to receive merger approval by January, officially forming "China Ocean Shipping Group Co., Ltd." This merger will create the world's fourth-largest container shipping company. The complexity of the merger involves integrating overlapping departments and maintaining employee stability, with a total deal value potentially exceeding $20 billion. This merger will reshape the shipping markets of China and the world.
The South Korean shipping industry is facing immense competitive pressure, with two major shipping companies urgently needing to procure ultra-large container ships to enhance their market competitiveness. Currently, the industry is suffering from severe overcapacity, and declining freight rates are impacting the profitability of shipping firms. Furthermore, officials do not support the merger of the two companies, emphasizing the need for voluntary principles to ensure market diversity and stability.
In recent years, state-owned shipping enterprises have faced poor performance, and mergers and restructuring may not necessarily improve the situation. The industry's environment has shifted from a planned economy to a market economy, but these enterprises struggle to respond flexibly to market changes. Institutional constraints hinder their ability to quickly adjust strategies, making them ill-suited for market competition. State-owned enterprises should redefine their roles to ensure they serve national strategic material transport while exploring market-oriented operational methods to survive and thrive in intense competition.
This study focuses on the strategy for developing Tianjin Port as a core area for international shipping in Northern China. It emphasizes the importance of safety management and transformation upgrades to promote regional economic development.
The global shipping industry is facing severe challenges, with China's international shipping market impacted by economic fluctuations leading to reduced exports of manufactured goods and imports of resources. The depreciation of the yuan has not significantly boosted exports, and there is a serious oversupply of vessels amid low market demand, particularly affecting dry bulk and container shipping. Although the oil tanker manufacturing sector has shifted towards energy-efficient ships, it faces competitive pressures due to fuel price volatility. The winter for global shipping extends beyond China, necessitating urgent industry and market structural adjustments.
The US market recently released its TOP5 e-commerce platform rankings, with Amazon and Walmart leading at 16.2% market share, while Chinese cross-border platform Temu ranked third. Data shows Amazon dominated with 390 million unique visitors and 255 million active app users by late 2024. The rise of these platforms is quietly transforming global e-commerce, with Chinese sellers' international influence growing steadily.