Cosco Container Lines, Problems And Countermeasures

COSCO is a super large state-owned shipping conglomerate. It started to undertake international container transportation in 1978. During the last decade, it has gone through 3 stages of development and its container fleet has grown from only one vessel of 218 TEUs to the current 109 containerships with total 205 thousand TEU5, including six 5446 TEU containerships of the fifth generation, which makes it the sixth largest global container carrier. Due to the impact from the change of the global economic and trade pattern as well as the South East Asia economic crisis, international container transportation market has declined substantially, which has brought severe tests to COSCO Group. To study the issues with COSCO Group and the solutions thereto is of great realistic significance to COSCO Group. As a member of the COSCO family, I should bear the responsibility and obligation to do so. In this thesis, I present my own ideas and opinions regarding the operation and development of containerized transport business of COSCO Group using the theories from the MBA programs together with the experiences in my work. This paper consists of 6 chapters. The first chapter is the introduction. The second chapter is about the history and the current situation of the container transportation development of COSCO. In the third chapter, analyses are made about the environments for the container transportation development of COSCO. In the external environment analyses, focus is placed on the world economic and trade situation, the integration of the global economy as well as the chances and challenges in the container transport COSCO are faced under the circumstances that China is joining the WTO; while in the internal environment analyses, emphasis is put on COSCO抯 advantages in carrying capacity scale, shipping routes coverage, market share, global integrated marketing system and information transmission and on its weak points in management mechanism, organizational structure, business concept and means and information system. The fourth chapter mainly analyses discusses the issues COSCO is confronted with in terms of organization structure, marketing system, business 7? making system, business capability and information system. The environment analyses in the third chapter and the analyses of the issue in the fourth chapter ?provide the bases for the stipulation of new operation strategic measures of COSCO. The fifth chapter expatiates on the strategies in mechanism reform and business development taken by COSCO Group in order to meet the challenges of the international container transport market and enhance its competitiveness. The sixth chapter is conclusion. This dissertation employs the method of SWOT to analyze the internal and external environments and conditions of COSCO container transportation, the main issues and the causes and look into the solutions and measures for these issues. The author thinks that COSCO Group should make full use of the state preferential policies and its own advantages, seize the golden chance of China joining the WTO, undertake comparatively complete system reform and structure adjustment of the its container transport business, establish scientific and reasonable container transport business decision-making system, renew concept and increase investment, expand the fleet scale, adjust shipping ro...