All of the above underline ongoing discrepancies between maritime operations, terminal operations, hinterland distribution and supply chain management. Maritime shipping companies appear to be the only beneficiary of economies of scale in ship size. If the disadvantages of scale for the other actors in the transport chain are taken into account, the economic benefits of larger containerships maybe limited. Still, economies of scale are contingent upon the trade routes, the ports of call sequence and even the general nature of the cargo being carried. There is thus no standard optimal ship size.