News / Carriers pat themselves on the back, but do their business plans stack up?

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The first session of JOC’s very well-attended TPM 2014 conference in Long Beach yesterday saw an illustrious line up of ocean carrier executives sharing a panel discussion to debate the issues of the moment, and somewhat cosily defend their growth policy and respond to criticism of their business strategy.

Indeed it is the policy of over-ordering new tonnage, thus creating a supply/demand imbalance that, to the outsider, looks increasingly flawed, given the disastrous financial results posted by many of the container ...