U.S. Liners, Terms of Sale and Control of Routing. Volume I: Executive Summary

摘要

The study focused on the relationship between terms of sale for U.S. imports and exports and the amount of cargo carried by U.S. liners. The major objective of the study was to develop commercial strategies for increasing the share of U.S. foreign trade cargoes carried by U.S. liners by inducing U.S. foreign traders to control the routing of their cargoes. The results of the study are presented in three volumes. The findings of the study: More control of cargo routing within the United States would help U.S. liner companies; In the U.S. trades, the terms of sale (c.i.f./f.o.b.) do not necessarily indicate who controls carrier selection; Forwarders select the carrier for about one-fifth of U.S. overseas trade and tend to use non-conference lines, which are usually foreign flag; Larger U.S. exporters have independent international transportation departments and control more of their overseas traffic than smaller exporters control; There is a definite link between control and 'export-mindedness'. Companies with over 40 percent of their total sales attributable to exports have a strong preference for controlling the routing of cargo; The benefits of such control include earlier sailings, faster transit time, lower delivery costs, better container availability, better out-turn, ability to negotiate selling prices over a wider cost range, and profit on delivery costs; The major legislative and regulatory obstacles to increasing control by shippers in the United States are the limited incentives, the forwarder brokerage system, prohibition of rebating in the U.S. trades and the difficulty of policing this overseas; and Efforts to increase control of routing within the United States should aim at propagating the benefits of control, helping traders improve their own international transportation management capabilities, and strengthening door-to-door delivery services offered by U.S. liner companies.