全球集装箱航运企业的航线网络格局及影响因素

Route network pattern and its influencing factors of container shipping enterprises

采用船期表数据,以全球前20位航运企业中的18家为研究对象,剖析各企业航线网络的异同点,并探讨企业航线配置的影响因素。研究表明:各企业航线网络均具有小世界和无标度特征,东亚是航班的首要集聚区,并且均为轴辐连接与点对点连接并存的混合式网络;各企业航线网络的市场广度和深度各异,根据航班的空间分布特征可将企业划分为4种类型,其中高丽海运、汉堡南美、阿拉伯轮船和万海航运专注于特定区域的细分市场,且拥有不同于全球枢纽港的企业枢纽港;港口腹地货源、港口自然条件及作业效率、海运保护政策、企业自身能力等是影响企业航线布局的重要因素。本研究有助于揭示航运企业的航线组织模式,为港口管理者决策提供参考。

Shipping enterprises are the organizers of container transportation. Their choice of routes and ports directly affects the construction of container network. In this paper, using the schedule data, 18 of the top 20 shipping enterprises are selected as the research objects to analyze the similarities and differences of their route network patterns, and to explore the influencing factors of their route configuration. We can find that, the route network of each enterprise has the characteristics of small world and scale-free, which means that it is controlled by a small number of highly connected hub ports. East Asia is the primary agglomeration area for each company’s schedule. Singapore, Shenzhen, Busan, Hong Kong and Shanghai occupy an important position in the route network of each company. And the enterprise route network shows a certain hub-and-spoke feature, which is a hybrid network where the hub-and-spoke connection and the point-to-point connection coexist. The differences of their networks are as follows: the market coverage and depth of each enterprise varies greatly, shipping giants such as Maersk and Mediterranean take both breadth and depth into account, CMA CGM and ZIM focus on market breadth, while Korea Marine Transport Company and Hamburg Sud tend to dig deep into the regional market;there are large differences in the spatial distribution of each company’s schedule, according to which, the shipping enterprises can be divided into four types, and as one of the types, Korea Marine Transport Company, Hamburg Sud, United Arab Shipping Company and Wan Hai Lines focus on specific regional market segments;the hub ports chosen by shipping enterprises are quite different, and some enterprises such as Korea Marine Transport Company and United Arab Shipping Company have their own hub ports that are not global hubs. The route configuration of shipping enterprises is affected by a variety of factors, such as source of goods of port hinterland, natural conditions and operation efficiency of ports, maritime protection policy, and enterprise scale and port investment. This study enriches the theory of transport geography, and reveals the route organization mode of shipping enterprises, which can provide guidance for the decision-making by port managers.