Abstract:

Covid-19 pandemic crisis seriously hit both the global trade and logistics sectors, causing huge distortions of the global supply chains. A peculiar paradox of this crisis, however, was an unexpectedly rapid growth in demand for container shipping services and, as a result of this, an unprecedented behavior of global container shipowners in the recovery phase. The main purpose of the research is to identify and analyze the basic premises and factors determining the implementation of an aggressive and typically pro-fiscal pricing strategy by maritime container operators, as well as to assess the economic and financial consequences of such a long-term use of exorbitantly high freight rates on unprecedented scale in the shipping history. There were applied such research methods and techniques as: desk research and data exploration as well the factors analysis (FA). Moreover, there were conducted interviews with representatives of the container shipping operators and forwarders in form typical for the Delphi method. The obtained research findings indicate that the adopted pricing strategy: 1. was strongly oriented on maximal exploring such an exceptional market opportunity, 2. enabled the container carriers gaining huge revenues and profits to the detriment of other companies, 3. significantly accelerated the changes in the existing business model of container shipping operators.  There is an inconsistency between the market regulatory mechanism as a main economic driving force of container shipping carriers in the operational sphere and the international public regulatory system. The latter one should be modified to adapt it better to the changes that have taken place on the global container shipping market.