Bunker price rises fuel old debate

REGULAR readers of this column will know that my view of container shipping is that, broadly speaking, unfettered competition doesn't work when it comes to the liner trades and that allowing the European Union to effectively outlaw shipping conferences was a big mistake.

This week's Drewry Container Insight report reinforces my views but a recent press release from the shippers' side shows how the old debate on how to price liner shipping still rumbles on.

Drewry starts its report by asserting: "Making money in the container shipping game is as much to do with luck as anything else. Whether a carrier ends the year in the red or black is often decided by external forces outside of management control, such as oil prices or the macro-economic inputs that drive demand for their services."