Future Strategies for Containerization in China

Since 1949, the ocean shipping fleet, port facilities, roadways, railways and inland waterway transportation system of the People's Republic of china have all been developed rapidly. Today, the transportation industry plays one of the most important roles in China's national economic development. Following the worldwide development of containerization, China has established a highly visible container transport system in terms of its containership fleet and container berths during the 1980s. As a result, it has been recognized widely that China has entered into its second phase of development in containerization. However, China's future development in containerization faces a new challenge. it is noteworthy that there are some apparent weaknesses in this newly established system. First of all, China's transportation development, as well as its national economy as a whole, has long been directed by political decisions. Future success in containerization will be strongly influenced by decision-making on how to allocate the country's limited available financial resources, and the future trends of trade activities. Also, China's inland transportation systems are so weak that they do not match current shipping and port capacities. Therefore, the second phase of development in containerization can not be solely predicted by its first phase achievement. China's further development in containerization would depend highly on whether or not China can overcome its weaknesses in inland transportation systems. In this paper, China's national container transport management network will be first introduced. Next, the past achievements and current status of all types of transportation systems which are associated with container movements will be evaluated. Then, existing barriers to an efficient container transport system will be discussed. Finally, recommendations on China's future containerization planning will be presented based on an analysis of China's political and economic situation and the worldwide container service projections.