387 
In managing its 58 international cargo lines the U.S.S.R. prefers 
to operate as an independent outside of the conference system* (see 
table 5). At midyear, only five Soviet cargo lines were affiliated with 
conferences and none had joined a conference since 1973. As noncon- 
ference operators, Soviet steamship companies running conventional 
and container services on key trade routes such as the North Pacific 
between the United States and Japan and the North Atlantic between 
the United States and Western Europe charge rates at least 15 percent 
below those charged by the conference lines. Other nonconference 
lines follow the same practice. Although Soviet ships are slower and 
their services more primitive than those of the conference lines, lower 
Soviet rates have attracted a sufficient volume of cargo from non- 
Communist shipowners to cause widespread concern, particularly in 
Western Europe. When the Soviets begin to obtain competitive ships, 
the threat will become more serious. 
“ Conferences are organizations of steamship companies operating cargo lines on given trade 
routes. They set the rates charged by member lines and allot sailings among them. Nonconference 
lines often operate on the same routes as “independents” or “‘outsiders”’. 
