Hur förändringar i ekonomin påverkat Finnlines Oyj

Abstract

I det här arbetet presenteras teorier om hur recessionen under de första åren under 1990-talet samt recessionen under åren 2007 fram till idag påverkat Finnlines styrande av fleet management, resultat och konkurrenssituation på östersjön. Dessutom tar detta arbete upp orsaker till dessa två recessioner samt likheter och olikheter mellan dessa. Under de två senaste decennierna har tre händelser varit av mycket stor betydelse för Finnlines. Då Sovjetunionen föll, då Finland blev medlem i EU samt då den senaste finanskrisen i USA spreds globalt. Under 1980-talet idkades en mycket ansvarslös penningpolitik i Finland. Detta, kombinerat med Sovjetunionens fall, ledde till recessionen under början av 1990-talet. Tack vare devalveringen av den finska Marken led exportsektorn endast små förluster under denna recession medan importsektorn led större förluster. Importens betydelse var dock på den tiden betydligt mindre, vilket innebar att Finnlines klarade sig bra under denna tidsperiod. Efter att Finland blev medlem i EU år 1995 förändrades hela Östersjömarknaden. Importens betydelse ökade och under dessa år blev Östersjön en mycket mer lockande marknad eftersom de enorma marknaderna i öst öppnades för konkurrens. Under de senaste åren har Finnlines lidit betydligt större förluster än under de första åren under 90-talet både gällande omsättning samt resultat. Största orsaken till detta är att balansen mellan import och export har ändrat samt att den senaste recessionen slagit hårdare på hela den totala transportsektorn.

In this thesis I will present theories about how the last two recessions in Finland have affected Finnlines as a company in terms of fleet management and the overall result. The first recession started in the early nineties and the ongoing recession started in 2007. I will also present theories about how the competitive situation on the North sea has changed over the last two decades. I will cover the differences and the similarities between these two recessions and the reasons behind them. There are three major turning points during the last two decades that have affected Finnlines. The first one was when the Soviet union collapsed, the second when Finland joined the European union in 1995 and the last one when the economic crisis in the US spread to the rest of the world in 2007. In the eighties Finnish banks acted irresponsibly which, in combination with the collapse of the Soviet union, led to the biggest recession the country had ever experienced so far. Thanks to the devaluation of the Finnish currency, the export sector did not suffer as much as the import sector. At this time period, the importance of exports was far more important for Finnlines than the imports. As a result of this, Finnlines continued to do well even during this time period. When Finland joined the EU in 1995, the whole North sea market changed. The importance of importing goods increased compared to the exporting goods. Also during this time period Russia started to evolve and taking steps towards democracy. Therefore the whole North sea market became much more lucrative for competitive companies. Within the last few years Finnlines has suffered far greater losses than they did in the early nineties both regarding their turnover and profit. This is due to the changes in the import/export balance. Also the current recession has hit the whole transport sector harder than the recession in the early nineties.