Strategic alliances and their impacts on the container shipping industry

The thesis deals with the evolution of container shipping route networks over a ten-year span from 1989 to 1999. The network evolution is shown to be a direct result of globalization, with a decline in the number of direct routes serving only two maritime ranges and a proliferation of multi-range services. A particular development has been the establishment of Strategic Alliances. Today, the industry has restructured itself around five major groupings. This paper provides an explanation for the establishment of such alliances and their influence. In particular the New World Alliance and its members will be examined in the thesis