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The management of the marine transportation trade had an increase of ordinary
profit noted in fiscal 1974, notwithstanding the decline or little growth in
the transport of oil and timber in the ocean shipping and a considerable increase
of costs mainly with respect to labor and fuel, because of a substantial increase
of income from the lasting transport contracts concluded at a high level of
freightage at the time of the boom.
In the market of marine transportation of the world, the tanker declined
sharply in 1974 and continued to be low in 1975. Thereafter, the tramper also
declined sharply, thus intensifying the aspect of depression. Such is due to
the stagnation of marine shipment and world-wide economic depression by the
steep rise of crude oil price. Now, referring to Fig.
2-3-5, the marine shipment of oil in the world that had progressed at a
growth rate of 16 percent in ton mile basis in the past four years up to 1973,
remained at a level of 1 percent against the previous year in 1974, whereas
the tanker bottoms in the world had developed at an annual rate of 12 percent
in weight ton for the past five years and, in 1974, still maintained the high
rate of 12 percent. As the result, the excessive tanker bottoms came up on the
surface, and as of the end of June 1975, the bottoms in excess of 27,000,000
weight tons among the total bottoms of tankers in the world at about 240,000,000
weight tons are in mooring. Additionally, there are about 156,000,000 weight
tons of tankers as of the end of fiscal 1974 that were ordered to the shipyards
during the period of boom before the oil crisis, and they are further worsening
the situation.
For the market of trampers, a rapid recovery is hardly expectable on account
of inflow of ore and oil carriers due to depression of the market of tankers
and movement: to convert the tankers now ordered to bulk carriers.
On the other hand, die trend of the coastal shipping having a problem of
excessive bottoms produced with decrease of the import of and demand for timber
from the recession of the domestic market is also a big problem for the marine
transportation management.
The coastal shipping had the cargo movement decreased by 7.7 percent by
ton-kilometers against the previous year due to the recession of the domestic
market but, with rise of the freightage, was able to maintain the balance of
profit and loss. Further, with favorable turn of the balance outside the business,
it had an improved balance of ordinary profit and loss in fiscal 1974 over fiscal
1973. But, in and after the second half of fiscal 1974, it is undergoing a severe
condition because of the prolonged depression.
In the business of passenger lines, the ordinary balance rate for fiscal
1974 fell to 83.4 percent. Particularly, in the lines to remote islands for
which government subsidies are designed, it is as low as 57.3 percent.
To cope with such situation, the foreign shipping is taking such and other
measures as to adjust the bottoms through operation of tankers at a reduced
speed and laying up fleets, while the domestic shipping is advancing measures
of checking the building of new vessels and curtailment of the expenses and
reduction of the frequency of services in the case of the passenger boats including
ferries.
Such severe problems of management in the marine transportation had exerted
a great influence upon the employment of seamen, giving rise to a severe condition
for employment not seen in these years with a sharp decline of the ratio of
job offers to applicants.
Further, the foregoing trend of the marine transportation is also exerting
a direct influence upon the shipbuilding trade. Particularly, the excessive
bottoms in the global scale is expected to last for a considerable time to come,
and the effects upon the shipbuilding trade of our country building about 50
percent of the vessels newly built in the world are by no means small.
The shipbuilding trade of our country had, as of the end of fiscal 1974,
a work volume of shipbuilding of about 40,000,000 gross tons (35 major shipyards)
or for about 2.5 years. But, due to the extreme decrease of orders in fiscal
1974 (72.3 per cent decrease against the previous year) and cancellation of
some of the orders received, the work volume decrease by 20 percent against
the same term in the previous year. With the work volume of fiscal 1974 taken
as 100, it is anticipated that the work volume will decline to 70 in fiscal
1976 and to 50 in fiscal 1977.
The shipbuilding trade is thus trying to adjust the excessive labor force
by such measures as to stop the new employment, control the overtime works and
transfer the personnel to the other divisions and, at the same time, develop
new demands. But, some of the smaller shipbuilding enterprises, subcontractors
and industries related to the shipbuilding are already experiencing the effects
in the form of decreased work volume or execution of layoff.
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