Very large container ships are being built with the theoretical justification that they will produce economies of scale. It is clear, however. that the immediate result of the mega-ship buildings is an overtonnaging of the world's major liner routes. As major operators have put newer and bigger ships in the water, they have significantly reduced the slot costs in the container trades to which t…
Based on recent operation performance data, the earnings and costs of container service have been investigated in the context of two indices developed by the Japanese and used elsewhere in East Asian shipping: charter base and hire base. Although the average size of container ships on the world's main trade routes has increased over the past two decades it is dangerous to generalize about the e…