Unit 3 Micro: Economies of Scale - the Mega Container Ship

There are currently around 9,000 container ships cruising the world’s shipping lanes, transporting goods around the globe.  But the competitive structure of the shipping industry looks set to be shaken up by the arrival of 10 new mega container ships.  These provide a great example of how economies of scale can lead to lower unit costs.

The Guardian reports on the investment of over £1bn by Danish shipping giant Maersk in the first ten of a portfolio of super-sized container ships. Each ship has a capacity (measured in terms of the number of containers that can be carried) which is 20% more than the largest container ship currently. The company hopes to be able to cut the cost of transporting a container from China to Europe by 26%.  Indeed, the ships are designed solely to operate on the China-Europe route. 

The Guardian also has this short video illustrating the new ships which gives a good impression of the sheer scale of these vessels.

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