The strategic role of maritime transportation in the development of selected major West German and Japanese export car markets: A comparative analysis

Until the early 1950s, the volume of overseas automobile exports could easily be handled by general cargo vessels and port facilities. However, the first European and then Japanese automobile manufacturers began to carve out major shares of foreign markets, first car/bulk vessels and then pure vehicles carriers and specialized port facilities were specifically developed for and dedicated to the finished automobile trade.; This study investigates from an historical standpoint the strategic role of the maritime industry in the development of selected major overseas Japanese and West German export car markets in the post-World War II era. Those markets are: Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany. In addition, the study investigates the determinants for and the extent of integration into specialized shipping and port terminal services by West German and Japanese automobile manufacturers. Information was collected via a combination of field study techniques which incorporated the use of archival documents, on-site interviews, survey questionnaires, telephone interviews, and correspondence.; It was found that in the finished automobile trade (i) shipping lines have turned to bulk carriage and flags of convenience to minimize the restrictive effects of merchant shipping policies, (ii) although a relatively small number of shipping lines operate vehicle carrier fleets, given the structure of this highly specialized sector, that number is large enough to sustain vigorous competition within the trade, (iii) port development and promotion policies have disproportionately affected those ports and port terminal operators competing for regional throughput, (iv) specialized automobile terminals tend to be concentrated in relatively few but strategically located regional ports, and (v) a number of West German and Japanese automobile manufacturers have integrated into shipping and/or port terminal services in order to increase control, improve efficiency, and/or maximize transfer pricing opportunities.