Notteboom 2006c).Liner service design is a function not only of carrier-specific operational factors(i.e.lower costs)but also of shippers'needs (e.g.transit time)and willingness to pay for a better service. In the last two decades,increased cargo availability has led carriers and strategic alliances among them to reshape their liner shipping networks through the introduction of new types of liner services on the main east-west trade lanes (see Figure 2).The largest ships operate on multi-port itineraries calling at a limited number of ports.The Europe-Far East trade provides a good example.Most mainline operators and alliances running services from the Far East to North Europe stick to line bundling itineraries with direct calls scheduled in each of the main markets.Notwithstanding diversity in calling patterns on the observed routes,carriers select up to five regional ports of call per loop.Shipping lines have significantly increased average N 点 vessel sizes deployed on the route from around 4500 TEU in 2000 to over 7500 TEU in early 2010.These scale increases in vessel size have put a downward pressure on the average number of port calls per loop on the Far East-North Europe trade:4.9 ports of call in 1989, N 3.84 in 1998,3.77 in October 2000,3.68 in February 2006,and 3.35 in December 2009 西 Maersk Line,MSC,and CMA-CGM are among the truly global liner operators with a strong presence in secondary routes.Their networks are based on traffic circulation through specific hubs.Productivity has been improved through the use of larger ships,new operational patterns,and cooperation between shipping lines.Container shipping lines have been very 岩 active in securing (semi)dedicated terminal capacity in the strategic locations within their liner service networks.Figure 3 gives an overview of the strategic ports in the worldwide liner network of Maersk Line.Shipping lines also rely on horizontal integration through operating agreements (e.g.vessel sharing agreements,slot chartering agreements,consortia and strategic alliances)and mergers and acquisitions.Alliance structures(cf.Grand Alliance,New World Alliance,and CYKH)provide its members easy access to more loops or services with relatively low-cost implications and allow them to share terminals. 4 The average vessel size increased from 1,155 TEU in 1987 to 1,581 TEU ten years later,2,417 TEU in 2007 and 2,618 TEU in 2009(UNCTAD,2009).In 2006,Maersk Line introduced the Emma Maersk of around 13,500 TEU capacity,the first vessel to move far beyond the 10,000 TEU mark.The total fleet in late 2009 counted 39 vessels in the range of 10,000- 15,500 TEU,and another 168 vessels of above 10,000 TEU unit capacity were on order (Source:Alphaliner, www.alphaliner.com) 66 Notteboom 2006c). Liner service design is a function not only of carrier-specific operational factors (i.e. lower costs) but also of shippers’ needs (e.g. transit time) and willingness to pay for a better service. In the last two decades, increased cargo availability has led carriers and strategic alliances among them to reshape their liner shipping networks through the introduction of new types of liner services on the main east-west trade lanes (see Figure 2). The largest ships operate on multi-port itineraries calling at a limited number of ports. The Europe–Far East trade provides a good example. Most mainline operators and alliances running services from the Far East to North Europe stick to line bundling itineraries with direct calls scheduled in each of the main markets. Notwithstanding diversity in calling patterns on the observed routes, carriers select up to five regional ports of call per loop. Shipping lines have significantly increased average vessel sizes deployed on the route from around 4500 TEU in 2000 to over 7500 TEU in early 2010. These scale increases in vessel size have put a downward pressure on the average number of port calls per loop on the Far East–North Europe trade: 4.9 ports of call in 1989, 3.84 in 1998, 3.77 in October 2000, 3.68 in February 2006, and 3.35 in December 2009. Maersk Line, MSC, and CMA-CGM are among the truly global liner operators with a strong presence in secondary routes. Their networks are based on traffic circulation through specific hubs. Productivity has been improved through the use of larger ships, 4 new operational patterns, and cooperation between shipping lines. Container shipping lines have been very active in securing (semi)dedicated terminal capacity in the strategic locations within their liner service networks. Figure 3 gives an overview of the strategic ports in the worldwide liner network of Maersk Line. Shipping lines also rely on horizontal integration through operating agreements (e.g. vessel sharing agreements, slot chartering agreements, consortia and strategic alliances) and mergers and acquisitions. Alliance structures (cf. Grand Alliance, New World Alliance, and CYKH) provide its members easy access to more loops or services with relatively low-cost implications and allow them to share terminals. 4 The average vessel size increased from 1,155 TEU in 1987 to 1,581 TEU ten years later, 2,417 TEU in 2007 and 2,618 TEU in 2009 (UNCTAD, 2009). In 2006, Maersk Line introduced the Emma Maersk of around 13,500 TEU capacity, the first vessel to move far beyond the 10,000 TEU mark. The total fleet in late 2009 counted 39 vessels in the range of 10,000- 15,500 TEU, and another 168 vessels of above 10,000 TEU unit capacity were on order (Source: Alphaliner, www.alphaliner.com) halshs-00538051, version 2 - 15 Jul 2012