Depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le transport maritime a été l’un des facteurs clés de la mondialisation. Il a permis concrètement l’accroissement du commerce international et contribué ainsi à la mise en interconnexion généralisée du monde. Mais le transport maritime a aussi contribué à remodeler l’espace productif mondial. Le déploiement à l’échelle internationale des chaînes de valeur est rendu physiquement possible : concevoir un produit dans un centre de R&D d’un pays riche, produire ses composants là où les compétences et le savoir-faire industriel existent, l’assembler dans un pays où le coût de la main-d’œuvre est faible, le distribuer dans les pays où les consommateurs disposent d’un pouvoir d’achat. Pour y parvenir, l’industrie du transport maritime en tant que secteur d’activité économique, avec ses règles spécifiques de fonctionnement et ses propres acteurs, se transforme profondément. Les réseaux maritimes eux-mêmes se mondialisent. Pour résumer l’hypothèse simplement, sans transport maritime et sans conteneurisation, pas de mondialisation.
Dans une première partie, l’article montre comment le transport maritime a gagné en efficacité et productivité depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ce qui permet un accroissement des échanges globaux. Le rôle particulier de la conteneurisation est souligné. Puis la transformation de l’espace productif mondial par le transport maritime est mise en évidence avec le phénomène des zones industrialo-portuaires aujourd’hui en concurrence à l’échelle mondiale et la mondialisation de l’espace maritime par la conteneurisation. Se pose alors la question de la régulation d’un secteur international, très concurrentiel et bénéficiant de la liberté des mers, aux impacts économiques, sociaux et environnementaux considérables.
Maritime transport since 1945: a key factor in globalization
Maritime transport since 1945: a key factor in globalization
Since the end of World War II, the shipping industry has become one of the key factors driving globalization. The growth of international trade has been based on the efficiency of this industry that has thus contributed to the global interconnection of the world. The shipping industry, however, was also a key influence on the reshaping of a globalized productive space. The rise of international value chains was made possible not only by the development of information and financial flows but also by the development of flows of goods. This entails the design of a product in an R&D center located in a rich country, the production of its components in countries with industrial skills and know-how, the assembly of components in countries with low labor costs and the distribution of manufactured goods in places where markets and consumers are to be found.
In addition to being one of the key drivers of globalization, the shipping industry itself has been subject to dramatic changes. Maritime networks have become more global through fierce competition between different stakeholders and the rise of new players on the market, in particular Asian firms. In general, it can be argued that globalization has become dependent on the shipping industry and more precisely on containerization.
The first part of this paper focuses on efficiencies and productivity gains of the shipping industry since World War II. Ships have become efficient at offering very low cost transport measured in tons per kilometer and global trade has expanded rapidly as a result. The specific role of containerization is also underlined. In the second part of the paper, the interaction between the shipping industry and the transformation of international productive spaces is analyzed. Heavy industries are found to play a key role in industrial-port areas both in old industrialized and emerging countries and these industrial-port areas are in competition on a global scale. Globalization of shipping networks has been shaped by containerization and the rise of East Asia. Questions are raised about the regulation of the shipping industry that has become a highly competitive industry due to the principle of the freedom of the seas. It is argued that greater awareness of the massive economic, social and environmental impact of the shipping industry is required.
