Global shipping.

[maasai 101]

Global shipping is dominated by European and Asian companies. One is left to wonder where America was left behind. A US business man Malcom McLean invented containerisation in the 1950s. Consequently America became a major player in global shipping with excellent shipyards a great fleet and thousands of sea farers. @patco where did it go wrong?

Yaani mmeshindwa hadi na a tiny country like Greece, which has the world second largest shipping fleet. By the way were it not for shipping and tourism the economic crisis in Greece would have been worse. Shipping currently employs 300,000 people in the country.

It is always stated that labor costs made American shipping companies uncompetitive. But why not outsource cheap labor like Europeans? Its common to see a Maersk ship with a Norwegian captain and a crew of 20 philipinos who make up more than a third of all crews worldwide,
with nearly a quarter million at sea.

With approximately 55,000 merchant ships carrying cargo around the world, one is left to wonder how the worlds "largest economy" after a 100 years of economic dominance is dependent on companies from other countries for trade.
Below is the global rank or total container handling capacity in Twenty Foot Equivalent units TEUS 2018


https://alphaliner.axsmarine.com/PublicTop100/index.php

 

[sani]

Greece wamekua kwa io maneno tangu jadi, when all we knew was hunting squirrels. Africa enye tuko nayo ni liberia, second largest ship registry in the world

 

[maasai 101]

Greece wamekua kwa io maneno tangu jadi, when all we knew was hunting squirrels. Africa enye tuko nayo ni liberia, second largest ship registry in the world

Yeah true, global shipping has tended to be dominated by countries with sea going traditions and poor alternative investment options. After WW1 Norway was the largest 3rd country shipper but got eclipsed by the Greek after WW2. But my question is how theres no American company even in top 30.

 

[cortedivoire]

US wanaficha white.

 

[sani]

Yeah true, global shipping has tended to be dominated by countries with sea going traditions and poor alternative investment options. After WW1 Norway was the largest 3rd country shipper but got eclipsed by the Greek after WW2. But my question is how theres no American company even in top 30.

ii nimetoa kwa mtandao

"Vessels flying the flags of places like Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands usually have smaller multinational crews that stay at sea for longer periods, even as the value of the cargo aboard their ships — sometimes surpassing 20,000 containers — grows ever higher. U.S. flagships have more robust crews — a minimum of 22 — and all mariners take an oath of allegiance to the United States."


"U.S. shipping companies say they cannot meet the ever-lower costs of foreign shipping companies from nations that subsidize shipbuilding, allow skeleton crews aboard vessels and offer rock-bottom salaries. Some 50,000 oceangoing trading vessels ply the seas today. The United States is not even among the top 20 maritime nations of the world in terms of gross tonnage."

“They utilize Filipino, Indian, Chinese (crews from) low cost countries where the standard of living is far below that of the United States . They’ll go aboard a ship for six months straight,”


"U.S. shippers cite the hypercompetitive global market as one factor in their decline. But they also say they’ve been hurt by fluctuating government policies, drastically reduced shipments of U.S. food aid abroad and the sharp drawdown of U.S. military forces abroad after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1989."


“It’s been an 80 percent reduction in the overall global (U.S. military) footprint since circa 1990,” said Eric P. Ebeling, chief executive of American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier Group out of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., the third-largest U.S. flag carrier in international trade. “When cargo goes down, that’s less cargo on U.S. flagships.”

 

[Tom Bayeye]

where America was left behind

where did it go wrong?

the wall has to be done first

 

[maasai 101]

US wanaficha white.
View attachment 243022

Since umeleta mambo ya navy, how comes the US goverment was dependent on Maersk to deliver basic ammenities to troops in iraq and afghanistan?

Overcharging allegations of US Government in Iraq and AfghanistanEdit
In response to a complaint from whistleblower Jerry H. Brown II, the US Government filed suit against Maersk for overcharging for shipments to US forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a settlement announced on 3 January 2012, the company agreed to pay $31.9 million in fines and interest, but made no admission of wrongdoing. Brown was entitled to $3.6 million of the settlement

 

[kijanamrefu]

America places more efforts in owning the trade(shipping) routes through it's big guns(read Navy)

 

[gashwin]

US wanaficha white.
View attachment 243022

hii post ni juu ya merchant marine au the military navy?

"As of October 1, 2018, the United States merchant fleet had 181 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons and above that carry cargo from port to port.[8] Nearly 800 American-owned ships are flagged in other nations.[9][10] "-Wikipedia

 

[gashwin]

America places more efforts in owning the trade(shipping) routes through it's big guns(read Navy)

the bloody buccaneers!

 

[sani]

hii post ni juu ya merchant marine au the military navy?

"As of October 1, 2018, the United States merchant fleet had 181 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons and above that carry cargo from port to port.[8] Nearly 800 American-owned ships are flagged in other nations.[9][10] "-Wikipedia

merchant marine vessels za US hupewa kakitu na government ndo kukiharibika wanafanyia navy kazi

 

[Sambamba]

The reason is because America's biggest trading partners are Mexico and Canada. Godds are transported overland using trucks and cargo trains.

 

[gashwin]

The reason is because America's biggest trading partners are Mexico and Canada. Godds are transported overland using trucks and cargo trains.

Everyone likes to make that extra sale. Why didn't american manufacturers try to enter other markets like, say, Europe? Why concentrate on only their neighbourhood?

 

[Sambamba]

Everyone likes to make that extra sale. Why didn't american manufacturers try to enter other markets like, say, Europe? Why concentrate on only their neighbourhood?

America is a huge economy with a huge internal market. External trade accounts only 20% of its GDP. That's about 4 trillion USD only out of GDP of 20 trillion USD America only needs Mexico and Canada tradewise.

 

[gashwin]

America is a huge economy with a huge internal market. External trade accounts only 20% of its GDP. That's about 4 trillion USD only out of GDP of 20 trillion USD America only needs Mexico and Canada tradewise.

not because they manufacture in chinese sweatshops and ship directly to europe and asian markets?

 

[grandpa]

not because they manufacture in chinese sweatshops and ship directly to europe and asian markets?

But Asian companies with underpaid dock workers and mariners carry the goods helping to preserve the low pricing

 

[gashwin]

But Asian companies with underpaid dock workers and mariners carry the goods helping to preserve the low pricing

few ships leaving US shores. dock jobs exported.
these are some of the dynamics trump will never understand.

 

[patco]

Si umejipea jibu zamani. sweatshop countries. cheap Asian slave labour.

And you do realize the U.S by nature of being distant and also being resource rich is quite self sufficient in many sectors. Sio ati ni kila kitu ku import kama nyinyi waKenya. Hadi vijiko mnatoa China.

Even alot of what is imported to the U.S is from U.S companies that have outsourced to sweatshop countries. If you can ship in cheap Nike shoes from Bangladesh or Iphones from China via cheap shipping the American corporation has won. Has it not?

 

[maasai 101]

But Asian companies with underpaid dock workers and mariners carry the goods helping to preserve the low pricing

Why not have american companies with asian mariners carry the goods? European shipping lines do so.

 

[maasai 101]

Si umejipea jibu zamani. sweatshop countries. cheap Asian slave labour.

And you do realize the U.S by nature of being distant and also being resource rich is quite self sufficient in many sectors. Sio ati ni kila kitu ku import kama nyinyi waKenya. Hadi vijiko mnatoa China.

Even alot of what is imported to the U.S is from U.S companies that have outsourced to sweatshop countries. If you can ship in cheap Nike shoes from Bangladesh or Iphones from China via cheap shipping the American corporation has won. Has it not?

America is a huge economy with a huge internal market. External trade accounts only 20% of its GDP. That's about 4 trillion USD only out of GDP of 20 trillion USD America only needs Mexico and Canada tradewise.

The discussion is not about GDP but trade in volumes, if around 50.4 million containers pass through american ports each year, isnt that volume enough to sustain an american shipping line?
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/global-shipping-container-traffic/