Container lines should learn from airline industry

Frankfurt

AIRLINES long ago cottoned on to the fact that being part of an alliance could save them money and help them offer passengers a greater variety of routes. Container-shipping companies have taken a little longer to figure this out - but are now copying the strategy wholeheartedly.Until recently, there were four major container-liner alliances - but that industry structure is now rapidly shifting as dwindling freight rates - the result of the industry ordering too many ships - savage profits.

The latest love-in came on Friday when Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said it would form an alliance with five Asian carriers. AP Moeller Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping, the world's largest container shipping companies by capacity, are already bosom buddies - their alliance is called the 2M partnership. The next two largest liners, CMA CGM and Cosco are among a group that last month formed the Ocean Alliance. Like the airlines' code-sharing agreements, these vessel-sharing partnerships help to cut costs and better use spare capacity. They allow companies to offer more frequent services without buying more ships or adding new routes. They can instead share space on other alliance members' vessels.