PART　II　 MARINE TRANSPORTATION

Chapter　1　 Marine Transportation

(Oceangoing Marine Transportation)

　 　 The transport volume of Japan's fleet (Total of Japanese flag vessels and chartered foreign veesels) for 1974 increased 40.8% over the preceding year for export, running far ahead of 24.2% growth for the total export, but marked only 2.7% gain for import, just above 1.9% of the total import growth, as shown in (Table 2-(1)-1) As the result, the loading share of Japan's fleet for 1974 jumped to 48.4% from 42.7% of the previous year for export but made a mild increase to 66.4% from the previous year's 65.9% for import.
　 　 Looking at the transport volume of the Japanese flag vessels only among all fleet, in export it increased only at the rate below that of the growth for the total export volume transported, while in import it decreased. As the result, the loading share of Japanese flag vessels declined both for export and import to 23.8% and 40.6% in 1974 respectively, treading further along the decreasing trend since several years ago. This is considered to have been caused by such reasons as the import reduction of crude oil for which Japanese flag vessels enjoy high share of transport volume, and the trend for Japanese flag vessels to be reduced in tonnage number by losing competitiveness in dry cargo transport where they used to fare well relative to the other areas.
　 　 On the other hand, transport volume by chartered foreign vessels leapt foreward from the previous year both for export and import, having exceed transport volume of Japanese flag vessels for export. As the result, their loading share for 1974 made a tremendous step foreward from the preceding year to 24.6% and 25.8% for export and import respectively.
　 　 The transportation between three countries made only 2.8% growth.
　 　 The oceangoing shipping enterprises of our country, after mergers in 1964, continued large build-up of vessels to meet the rapid increase of shipping demands under the high growth economy of the time so that Japan's holding number of oceangoing vessels of more than 2,000 gross tons reached 35,270 thousand tons in the middle of 1974. This tonnage of fleet is the largest next to Liberia in the world and occupies 12% of the total tonnage of fleet in the world.
　 　 On the other hand, oceangoing shipping volume for foreigh trade centering around Japan is the largest in the world and its expansion has been so rapid that even large build-up of vessels could not catch up with the increasing transport demand, leading to the active utilization of chartered foreign vessels to fill the gap and secure the stable transportation of export and import goods. As the result, Japan's holding number of ocean-going fleet including chartered foreign vessels reached 94,840 thousand deadweight tons (54,580 thousand gross tons) in the middle of 1974, as indicated in (Table 2-(1)-2).