FCEQ - Global Trade, theory and development

Vulnerabilities in world cargo trade and blockages in one of the world's most utilised canals, the Suez Canal, have created new challenges for shipping companies and prompted the consideration of strategies to mitigate the consequences of these vulnerabilities. An alternative route for maritime transport between Asia and Europe, when shipping through the Suez Canal is disrupted, goes via the Cape of Good Hope. That route implies longer sailing time, higher fuel consumption and emissions. For shipping companies, it is therefore critical to understand how they should respond to disruptions on the Suez Canal. It follows from this that the main objective of this study is to develop a method for evaluating strategies to mitigate canal blockages, focusing on minimising delivery time, operational costs, emissions, and cost to society. First, a star algorithm is applied to identify the shortest routes for vessels sailing. Second, Discrete Event Simulation is employed to assess the efficiency of the implemented strategies. The case study considered involves a 30-day blockage scenario of the Suez Canal, which incorporates simulated transit calls based on real-life data, characteristics of container vessels (e.g., speed and fuel consumption), and the flow of 20-foot containers between Europe and Asia.

Previous studies on the network analysis of maritime networks have identified the structure and characteristics of international maritime networks. The analyzed network is weighted with the vessel capacity because the weighted links make the analysis closer to actual trade flows. Meanwhile, shipping lines design shipping networks based on various factors related to shipping, such as the geographical conditions of ports. Thus, this study identifies the differences in characteristics between networks weighted by vessel capacity and distance. The results reveal the following three findings that cannot be identified by vessel capacity alone. First, long-distance connections are weaker than short-distance connections in international shipping networks. Second, Port Kelang has geographic significance in the international shipping network equivalent to Singapore. Increasing the number of vessels allocated to Port Kelang can partially replace some of Singapore's hub functions. Finally, the development of ports in the Red Sea (Jeddah), the Strait of Gibraltar (Tanger Med), and the Suez Canal (Port Said) are crucial for the future growth of international trade due to their geographic significance.

This study examines the factors influencing the selection of port cities as sea-air freight transit hubs, focusing on two global logistics leaders, Kuehne+Nagel and DB Schenker. Data from flight schedules and container liner schedules for 44 cities with major seaports and international airports (collected for September 2-8, 2024) were used to construct three transportation networks: maritime container shipping, airline flight, and integrated sea-air networks. Using complex network analysis, four centrality measures-Degree, Closeness, Betweenness, and Eigenvector Centrality-were employed to assess city connectivity, with results synthesized through factor analysis. The findings reveal distinct hub selection strategies: Kuehne+Nagel prioritizes Dubai, Los Angeles, and Miami for intercontinental connectivity, while DB Schenker leverages Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and regional hubs like Tokyo, Osaka, and Incheon. Frankfurt (HAM/BRV) supports DB Schenker's Air-Ocean operations in Europe. This analysis validates the utility of network models in understanding global logistics and identifies emerging cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen as potential future hubs, offering insights into the evolving dynamics of multimodal freight systems.

Global maritime networks serve as the backbone of international trade, yet their spatial structure remains complex and dynamic. Traditional research has primarily conceptualized hubs and corridors as distinct entities, often applying connectivity-based metrics to identify key nodes in the network. However, existing studies often fail to fully capture the functional dynamics of maritime hubs within structured trade corridors. To address this gap, this study introduces the maritime hub-corridor approach, which systematically analyzes maritime network structures by integrating hubs, inter-hub connections, and gateways into a unified analytical system. Findings confirm strong intra-Asian trade concentrations but also reveal that the hub-corridors are not uniformly structured; instead, regionalized sub-corridors emerged, reflecting varying functional roles of hubs. The Lorenz Curve analysis further demonstrates that inter-hub linkages are highly concentrated locally, with a manifestation of selective hubs in the dominant trade corridors. Additionally, certain ports are identified as gateway-hubs, bridging distinct corridors and facilitating long-distance trade integration. This study offers a new analytical yet holistic approach, enabling us to (1) identify maritime hubs using systematic measures, (2) classify their roles within both regional and global contexts, and (3) examine the spatial-economic characteristics of global maritime networks.

The global economy has faced significant disruptions due to trade wars, notably the US-China trade war initiated in 2018, which has reshaped international trade dynamics and global supply chains. This study addresses two critical research gaps: the specific implications of trade wars on the shipping industry and the strategic responses of shipping firms to economic shocks. By examining strategies such as retrenchment, perseverance, and innovation, this research assesses their impact on financial performance amidst varying tariff levels. Utilizing granular data from the US-China trade war, the analysis reveals that while many firms adopt multiple strategies, their effectiveness is context-dependent, with mixed performance outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of prioritizing perseverance and innovation over retrenchment in navigating trade war challenges. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between strategic responses and firm performance in the shipping sector, offering valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers amid ongoing economic disruptions.