THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN AIR TRANSPORTATION FAIRFAX, VA, JUNE 1-4 2008 The Integrator Market Actors and Their Strategies Evy Onghena Department of Transport and Regional Economics University of Antwerp B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium
[email protected] Abstract— Integrators – companies that offer vertically companies’ catchment area and their options for the location integrated, time-definite, door-to-door transport – have a of production and assembly facilities [2]. significant market power. However, insight into the market structure and the cost structure of these companies, as well as Besides the importance of integrators for shippers, the into the consequences of their expansion and cooperation competitiveness of a region is also partly determined by the strategies, is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the presence of one or more integrators. This can be illustrated integrator market from an organizational perspective, describing the strategic behaviour of the market participants. This paper very well by the relocation of DHL’s hub activities from provides a clear insight into the major actors of the integrator Brussels National Airport to Leipzig in 2008, which will have market and their expansion and cooperation strategies. far-reaching microeconomic and macroeconomic consequences for the airport and for the Belgian economy in Integrators; strategic behaviour; expansion; cooperation; general. industrial economics Over the past decade, international express has grown at 1 I. RATIONALE AND SETTING more than twice the rate of total worldwide air cargo traffic, 2 The globalization of the world economy involves that averaging 12.9% annually [3]. The integrators account for companies are reorganized, resulting in a worldwide spread of almost 85% of the world’s express shipments [4].