| Summary: | The move towards vertical integration through the ports and logistics market by the container shipping lines has become more popular in the recent decade. This was largely due to the shippers’ increasing expectations for a “one-stop” service. Furthermore, this strategy was seen
as a cost saving move by having greater control along the supply chain.
The objective of this research paper is to examine whether vertical integration has a positive impact on the container shipping lines’ performance financially. This was done through financial analysis of a sample of 5 container shipping lines, chosen from a larger sample of the top 30 shipping lines based on their total throughput in 2008.
The main finding of this research was that a weak correlation between vertical integration and financial performance of container shipping lines has been established. Although the correlation was weak, container shipping lines continued to engage in vertical integration, this had shown that vertical integration do has its benefits, even if it has not been proven well financially.
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