CONSOLIDATION is occurring in the shipping industry, albeit at a slower pace than other industries, says the new chief executive of P&O Nedlloyd, Philip Green.

"Here we [PONL] are the third or fourth biggest in the world and we have a market share of less than 10 per cent. The industry itself is still very young and very fragmented," Mr Green said during a recent interview with the Shipping Gazette.

"I think the top 20 players have moved from about 50 per cent of the market to about 75 per cent of the market, but you still have many other players controlling 25 per cent of the [overall] market," he said.

Mr Green added that he felt the compression of the industry still has a "long way to go".

"Consolidation is happening, but compared to many industries one can suggest, you still have a long way to go," he said.

On the subject of industry newcomers, Mr Green said that it would become increasingly difficult for new companies to enter the market in the face of ongoing consolidation.

"You have to think that the barriers to entry will increase."

However, the chief executive added that as world trade to continues to grow there will always be newcomers popping up in the market, but Mr Green suggested that it would be difficult for them to become global players.

"You'll always get small competitors and that's healthy. You can pick a couple of trades and compete - that's fine.

"But to have the sort of strategic relationship that we have with our customers - integration with supply chain, logistics and value added services - its more difficult for newcomers to offer that relationship," Mr Green said.