Traditionally, liner markets have been seen as dominated by conferences on the seller side, facing small, unorganized shippers onn the buyers' side. This perceived asymmetry has greatly influenced conference legislation in North America (and more recently in the E.U.) and it has been deemed essential that government should regulate conference activities in order to curb any abuse of ‘conference power’. In this view, shipowners and shippers are adversaries engaged in a zero-sum battle over transport costs rather than potential or actual partners in global distribution systems. This paper suggests that in today's global markets much can be achieved by cooperationn in the development of logistics systems and that shipowners and shippers may have much to gain from such cooperative alliances. A survey of shippers' councils in 1991–1992 demonstrates the diversity and increasing sophistication of many national shippers' councils, which devote themselves to the task of improving markets through education and the legislative process. The situation in the U.S.A. is different: for legal reasons, conventional shippers' councils do not exist. Instead, ‘shippers’ associations' play a commercial role in liner markets. It is suggested that European style shippers' councils can and should play an important role in the development and formulation of policies for internatinal liner markets. Such participation requires a cooperative industry environment quite different from the traditional adversarial approach, which is ill suited to global trade and logistics alliances.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Shipper's councils: role and responsibility—a western view


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1994-01-01




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown



    Shipper's View

    Zamjahn, J. E. / National Research Council / Transportation Research Board | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1995


    Shipper's View

    Zamjahn, J. E. / Transportation Research Board; National Research Council | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1994



    A shipper's view of car pooling

    Marvin, J.S. | Engineering Index Backfile | 1914


    Shipper's Viewpoint

    Reiss, G. / Animal Transportation Association | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1992