Mentions of the internet of things within the filings of companies in the maritime industry rose 23% between the second and third quarters of 2021.
In total, the frequency of sentences related to the internet of things between October 2020 and September 2021 was 64% higher than in 2016 when GlobalData, from whom our data for this article is taken, first began to track the key issues referred to in company filings.
When companies in the maritime industry publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing companies in the coming years. The internet of things is one of these topics - companies that excel and invest in these areas are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.
To assess whether the internet of things is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of companies in the maritime industry, two measures were calculated. Firstly, we looked at the percentage of companies which have mentioned the internet of things at least once in filings during the past twelve months - this was 58% compared to 39% in 2016. Secondly, we calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to the internet of things.
Of the 50 biggest employers in the maritime industry, Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd. was the company which referred to the internet of things the most between October 2020 and September 2021. GlobalData identified six internet of things-related sentences in the Japan-based company's filings - 0.4% of all sentences. Kintetsu World Express Inc mentioned the internet of things the second most - the issue was also referred to in 0.4% of sentences in the company's filings. Other top employers with high internet of things mentions included Korean Air Lines Co Ltd, COSCO Shipping Holdings Co Ltd and ID Logistics Group.
This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on the internet of things and how important the issue is considered within the maritime industry, but it also has limitations and should be interpreted carefully. For example, a company mentioning the internet of things more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures into the internet of things have been successes or failures.
GlobalData also categorises internet of things mentions by a series of subthemes. Of these subthemes, the most commonly referred to topic in the third quarter of 2021 was 'ambient commerce', which made up 39% of all internet of things subtheme mentions by companies in the maritime industry.
Data Journalism Team
