Maritime transport and trade : the impact of European transport policy. An overview of maritime freight transport patterns

Abstract

In order to unblock major transport routes and to ensure sustainable mobility, the changing of freight road to rail or maritime transport is an European Union objective. The increasing seaborne transport, the growing process of containerization and building an infrastructure for regular maritime lines and increasing Short Sea Shipping draws a scene with maritime sector of companies of major size, as a result, in many occasions, of mergers and acquisitions. These dynamics seems to draw a new stage, with more concentrated markets. In this paper we intend to make an approach to the levels of concentration of maritime transport in Europe, trying to find a possible connection between new market structure in the maritime transport sector and the new economic situation promoted by European Transport Policy rules.