The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 1998 significantly shifted the industrial structure of liner shipping markets from one that was dominated by price-fixing liner shipping conferences to one that is dominated by non-binding discussion agreements, global alliances, and long-term confidential...

This timely and comprehensive new Handbook brings together an unrivalled group of distinguished scholars and practitioners to provide in-depth analysis and a contemporary perspective on a wide-ranging array of topics in maritime economics.

The virtual disappearance of liner shipping conferences from US markets and their elimination in European trades create a significant risk that in place of these collusive price-setting groups, the industry could become increasingly consolidated. The absence of the conference pricing cushion...

This paper attempts to shed light on the proposal that firms in concentrated industries may keep excess capacity to forestall entry or expansion by rivals. Excess capacity can deter entry by forming expectations on the part of potential entrants that dominant firms are capable of responding...

Liner shipping firms have long argued that the task of providing adequate service to shippers while earning reasonable rates of return on capital requires at least some form of limited antitrust immunity. Carriers contend that because scheduling requirements unique to liner shipping firms...