• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.497-508
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to overcome limitations of conventional studies that to predict Baltic Dry Index (BDI). The study proposed applications of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) named Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to predict BDI. Methods: The BDI time-series prediction was carried out through eight variables related to the dry bulk market. The prediction was conducted in two steps. First, identifying the goodness of fitness for the BDI time-series of specific ANN models and determining the network structures to be used in the next step. While using ANN's generalization capability, the structures determined in the previous steps were used in the empirical prediction step, and the sliding-window method was applied to make a daily (one-day ahead) prediction. Results: At the empirical prediction step, it was possible to predict variable y(BDI time series) at point of time t by 8 variables (related to the dry bulk market) of x at point of time (t-1). LSTM, known to be good at learning over a long period of time, showed the best performance with higher predictive accuracy compared to Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). Conclusion: Applying this study to real business would require long-term predictions by applying more detailed forecasting techniques. I hope that the research can provide a point of reference in the dry bulk market, and furthermore in the decision-making and investment in the future of the shipping business as a whole.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.127-132
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• 2021

This paper applies a machine learning model to forecasting freight rates in dry bulk and tanker markets with wavelet decomposition and empirical mode decomposition because they can refect both information scattered in the time and frequency domain. The decomposition with wavelet is outperformed for the dry bulk market, and EMD is the more proper model in the tanker market. This result provides market players with a practical short-term forecasting method. This study contributes to expanding a variety of predictive methodologies for one of the highly volatile markets. Furthermore, the proposed model is expected to improve the quality of decision-making in spot freight trading, which is the most frequent transaction in the shipping industry.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.127-141
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• 2019

In this study, the relationship between Baltic Dry Index(BDI) and maritime trade volume in the dry cargo market was verified using the vector autoregressive (VAR) model. Data was analyzed from 1992 to 2018 for iron ore, steam coal, coking coal, grain, and minor bulks of maritime trade volume and BDI. Granger causality analysis showed that the BDI affects the trade volume of coking coal and minor bulks but the trade volume of iron ore, steam coal and grain do not correlate with the BDI freight index. Impulse response analysis showed that the shock of BDI had the greatest impact on coking coal at the two years lag and the impact was negligible at the ten years lag. In addition, the shock of BDI on minor cargoes was strongest at the three years lag, and were negligible at the ten years lag. This study examined the relationship between maritime trade volume and BDI in the dry bulk shipping market in which uncertainty is high. As a result of this study, there is an economic aspect of sustainability that has helped the risk management of shipping companies. In addition, it is significant from an academic point of view that the long-term relationship between the two time series was analyzed through the causality test between variables. However, it is necessary to develop a forecasting model that will help decision makers in maritime markets using more sophisticated methods such as the Bayesian VAR model.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2017

The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the synchronization between the representative global freight index, the Baltic Dry bulk Index (BDI) and the China Container Freight Index (CCFI) with monthly data from 2000 to 2016. Using the non-stationarity of the business cycle that is able to include common trends, we employ the Engle-Granger 2 stage co-integration test and found no synchronization. On the contrary, we additionally estimated the causality between the markets and revealed the causality, which implies that the Chinese economy has a significant effect on the global market. The results of this empirical analysis demonstrate that the CCFI of China is appropriate for analyzing the shipping industry. In practice, this means that it is more appropriate to include CCFI in the global market outlook than use it as a substitute for the global freight rate index, the BDI. This is a case study of the synchronization of the economic fluctuations of the shipping industry. It suggests that the economic fluctuations of China need to be considered in the unstable global market forecast. In particular, this case applies to the fluctuations in the shipping industry synchronism and provides important results in scientific terms.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.244-252
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• 2020

The 2008 global financial crisis was triggered by the Lehman Brothers crisis caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States This crisis has had an impact on the globe's dry bulk shipping market by reducing dry bulk cargo volume. An oversupply of dry bulk carriers caused a serious recession in the globe's dry-bulk shipping industry and shipbuilding industry. In this situation, the Korean dry-bulk shipping companies were victims of the quagmire of a long recession since the global financial crisis and could not overcome this crisis. This condition forced them into severe financial risk Thus, it caused many shipping companies to file for bankruptcy. In this study, we classified Korean ocean-going dry-bulk shipping companies into two groups, that is, the solvent group and the insolvent group. We also separated the research period before and after the 2008 global financial crisis. Then we investigated the differences in the major financial ratios of the two groups by t-test and found that some financial ratios such as profitability ratios and growth ratios showed the difference between the two groups with statistical significance. The significance of this study is as follow. First, the shipping company management is also crucial for the systematic management of financial strength and business strategy, it is crucial to manage cargo which a high profitable freight. Second, the shipping company should be managed as a company with continued growth through efficient operation and management of ships.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.217-240
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• 2011

In this study, vector autoregressive and vector error correction models in the short-run dynamics are considered to analyze the effect of the changes in international crude oil prices on Baltic dry index, Baltic Capesize index and Baltic Panamax index, and the intercorrelations between Capesize and Panamax prices, respectively. First, using the vector autoregressive model, the changes in international crude oil price have a statistically significant positive effect for Capesize at lag 1, for Panamax a significant negative effect at lag 3 and a significant positive effect for Baltic dry index at lag 1. From the impulse response analysis, the international crude oil price causes Baltic dry index to increase in the sort-run and the effect converges on the mean after 3 months. Second, using the vector error correction model, the empirical results for the spillover effects between Capesize and Panamax markets provide that in the case of the deviation from a long-run equilibrium the Panamax price is adjusted toward decreasing. The increases in freight rates of the Capesize market at lag 1 lead to increase the freight rates in Panamax market at present. The Panamax responses from the Capesize shocks increase rapidly for 3 months and the effect converges on the mean after 5 months. The Capesize responses from the Panamax shocks are relatively small, and increase weakly for 3 months and the effect disappears thereafter.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Computer Information Conference
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• 2021.01a
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• pp.329-330
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• 2021

벌크화물운송은 해상운송시장에서 가장 큰 규모이고 철강 및 에너지 산업을 뒷받침 하는 중요한 시장이다. 또한 운임의 변동성이 가장 큰 시장으로 상당한 수익을 기대할 수 있는 반면에 파산에 이르는 큰 손실이 발생할 수 있기때문에 시장 참여자들은 합리적이고 과학적인 예측을 기반하여 의사결정을 해야 한다. 그러나 해운시장에서는 과학적 의사결정보다는 경험기반의 의사결정에 의존하기 때문에 시황변동성에 취약하다. 본 논문은 벌크운임예측에 신호 분해 방법인 EMD와 인공신경망을 결합한 하이브리드 모델을 적용하여 과학적 예측방법을 제시하고자 한다. 본 논문은 학문적으로 해운시장 운임예측연구에서 거의 시도되지 않았던 시계열분해법과 기계학습기법을 결합한 하이브리드 모델을 제시하였다는데 의미가 있으며 실무적으로는 해운시장에서 빈번이 일어나는 의사결정의 질이 제고되는데 기여할 것으로 기대된다.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.77-92
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• 2014

The focus of this study is to analyse dynamic relationship among BDI(Baltic Dry-bulk Index, hereafter BDI), forex market and industrial production using monthly data from 2003-2013. Specifically, we have focused on the investigations how monetary and real variable affect shipping industry during recession period. To compare performance between general VAR and Bayesian VAR we first examine DAG(Directed Acyclic Graph) to clarify causality among the variables and then employ MSFE(mean squared forecast error). The overall estimated results from impulse-response analysis imply that BDI has been strongly affected by other shock, such as forex market and industrial production in Bayesian VAR. In particular, Bayesian VAR show better performance than general VAR in forecasting.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.123-140
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• 2023

Maritime transportation is one of the oldest means of transportation utilized by mankind, and it has significantly contributed to the advancement of civilization by efficiently transporting bulk cargo at a low cost. The study aim to identify the factors influencing the selection of shipping companies in the bulk shipping market and provide insights for improving the competitiveness of shipping-related companies. To achieve this goal, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed. For the empirical analysis, previous research, interviews, and a pilot test were conducted to identify five top-level factors such as companies, vessels, operations, services, and transaction factors. Each top-level factor has four sub-factors. The results of the analysis, based on 80 valid questionnaires, are as follows: Firstly, in the selection of shipping companies, the priority of factors influencing the choice of shipping companies was as follows: vessel factors were the most important, followed by company, operations, relationship, and service factors. Secondly, when investigating the priority of sub-factors, the availability/appropriateness of vessels was the most crucial factor, followed by company characteristics, financial soundness, and the company's reputation in order. The implications of these findings suggest that shipowners should focus on securing more suitable vessels and enhancing their reputation in response to shippers' demand. Shippers, on the other hand, should consider maintaining a healthy financial structure as a crucial task in securing competitive shipping service providers.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2018

Maritime industry is affected by outside factors significantly due to its derivative demand characteristics. However, the supply side can not react to these changes immediately and due to this uniqueness, maritime industry repeats the boom-bust cycle. Therefore the government itself needs to operate early warning system in order to monitor the market and notice the upcoming risks by setting up a system to prepare for the situations. In this research, signal approach is used to establish early warning system. Overall leading index is composed of crisis index that is based on BDI(Baltic Dry Index) and various leading indexes such as finance, economy, shipping and the others. As a result of computing overall leading index which is early warning system in maritime through signal approach, the index showed a high correlation coefficient with actual maritime risk index by difference of 4 months. Also, the result was highly accurate with overall leading index's QPS(Quadratic Probability Score) at 0.37.