MARITIME TRANSPORT SINCE 1945: A KEY FACTOR IN GLOBALIZATION

Abstract

Since the end of World War II, the shipping industry has become one of the key factors driving
globalization. The growth of international trade has been based on the efficiency of this industry
that has thus contributed to the global interconnection of the world. The shipping industry,
however, was also a key influence on the reshaping of a globalized productive space. The rise
of international value chains was made possible not only by the development of information
and financial flows but also by the development of flows of goods. This entails the design
of a product in an R&D center located in a rich country, the production of its components in
countries with industrial skills and know-how, the assembly of components in countries with
low labor costs and the distribution of manufactured goods in places where markets and
consumers are to be found.
In addition to being one of the key drivers of globalization, the shipping industry itself has
been subject to dramatic changes. Maritime networks have become more global through
fierce competition between different stakeholders and the rise of new players on the market,
in particular Asian firms. In general, it can be argued that globalization has become dependent
on the shipping industry and more precisely on containerization.
The first part of this paper focuses on efficiencies and productivity gains of the shipping industry
since World War II. Ships have become efficient at offering very low cost transport measured
in tons per kilometer and global trade has expanded rapidly as a result. The specific role of
containerization is also underlined. In the second part of the paper, the interaction between
the shipping industry and the transformation of international productive spaces is analyzed.
Heavy industries are found to play a key role in industrial-port areas both in old industrialized and emerging countries and these industrial-port areas are in competition on a global scale.
Globalization of shipping networks has been shaped by containerization and the rise of East
Asia. Questions are raised about the regulation of the shipping industry that has become a
highly competitive industry due to the principle of the freedom of the seas. It is argued that
greater awareness of the massive economic, social and environmental impact of the shipping
industry is required.