The Shipping Industry in the United Kingdom

• Published in: Management Research News
• Main Author: McConville, J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald 1978
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb027707; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/eb027707/full/xml; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/eb027707/full/html

Shipping is not, as is often assumed, a monolithic industry. It is rather a complex of associated industries performing a different transport function and satisfying a different demand. There is no clear line of demarcation between the sectors; at one extreme there is a close association between cargo liners and tramps which can generally assume the other's function, while at the other extreme passenger liners have little in common with tankers. Shipping, therefore, is not a single industry but a group of industries which are to a greater or lesser extent related. It follows from this that any generalized discussion must be treated with circumspection, for a major influence in one sector or trade may only be of marginal significance in another. For example, the competition from the airlines for passenger traffic, particularly over the North Atlantic, had a disastrous impact on the passenger liner trade but left the other sectors of the industry virtually unaffected.