The FIrst part of this paper brings into discussion some recent changes in the dynamics of the European container handling business, in particular as a result of vertical and horizontal integration strategies of container terminal operators. The industry structure has become su ciently consolidated to raise a fundamental question about whether market forces are su cient to prevent the abuse…
A cross section panel model is applied to estimate the effect that the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) has on container freight rates for a sample of six major container liner shipping routes during 2009 to 2011. The estimated coefficient of HHI is non-positive and statistically insignificant, indicating that higher concentration level does not lead to high price and the container liner shippi…