Comment / Liners on the vertical integration prowl

Photo 102329233 © Philip Bird | Dreamstime.com

Travellers to India are often entertained to hear a strange oxymoronic phrase that is a conjunction of words seemingly at odds with each other, and yet encapsulates a very particular meaning: “same same, but different”.

As a shipping journalist for 20-plus years, I am reminded of this when we look at industry recessions, which share odd, but recurring, characteristics – one of which is that when the box volumes thin out, container lines go on the hunt for other cargo types.

For ...