Page 47 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Services Management

Notes 2.5.3 Transport Related Services

There are some transport related services which are as follows:

Shipping

Shipping is an important indicator of both commodity and services trade of any country. It plays
an important role in the Indian economy with around 95 per cent of the country’s trade by
volume and 68 per cent in terms of value being transported by sea. As on 1 January 2012, India
had a fleet strength of 1,122 ships with Gross Tonnage (GT) of 11.06 million, the public-sector
Shipping Corporation of India having the largest share of 36.17 per cent. Of this, 372 ships with
10.01 million GT cater to India’s overseas trade and the rest to coastal trade. The gross foreign
exchange earnings/savings of Indian ships in 2010-11 were ` 10,666.45 crore. Leaving aside the
flag of convenience countries, the country with the highest dead weight tonnage (DWT) is Hong
Kong. Though India has one of the largest merchant shipping fleets among developing countries,
it is ranked eighteenth in the world in terms of DWT with a share of only 1.09 per cent as on 1
January 2011. In comparison, China is ranked ninth with a share of 3.78 per cent (Table 2.6).
Indian vessels are also relatively older than the international average. As on December 2011, 44
per cent of the fleet was over 20 years of age and 12 per cent in the age group of 16-20 years.
According to preliminary estimates by UNCTAD, at 8.94 million twenty foot Equivalent Units
of Container (TEUs) in 2010, India was ranked eighth among developing countries in terms of
container ship operation with a world share of 0.32 per cent. UNCTAD further classifies India
(ranked 17th) as one of the top 20 economies for shipbuilding based on deliveries in the year
2010 (37 vessels of 136,000 DWT), though its share is only 0.11 per cent in the world. India is also
one of the major nations undertaking ship-breaking service. In 2010, with a world share of 32.43
per cent, it topped the list of ship-scrapping nations, scrapping 451 ships with 9.28 million DWT.
Table 2.6: Share of Merchant Fleets by Flags of Registration as on January 2011

Source: Based on United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Review of Maritime
Transport, 2011
India is ranked 22nd in 2011 according to the UNCTAD liner shipping index, down from 21st
position in 2004. The global shipping industry has been experiencing turbulent waters in the
year 2011 due to the economic slowdown. Indian shipping companies faced problems of restricted

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