Monopolies can implement efficiency gains and lock-in strategies that companies with less market share can't. For example, imagine grain being shipped across a

Monopolies can implement efficiency gains and lock-in strategies that companies with less market share can't. For example, imagine grain being shipped across an ocean. Initially there are multiple shipping companies providing transport services, with their own models of ships and way of doing things. Over time, GrainMove Co buys out the other big players and becomes the main provider. In a bid for dominance, they buy up the ports on both sides so that competitors either have to pay exorbitant fees to dock, or build their own ports. They introduce a fleet of ships of the same model & capacity in order to streamline their logistics management. Then they start manufacturing container crates and modify the ships so that only their containers fit on them, forcing customers to also hire their containers in order to ship grain. There are now a number of weak points making the industry less robust. An unexpected fault or parts shortage for that specific type of ship. A sudden increase in demand for containers because a toxin from a disease of the grain means they can only be used once. All these are suddenly not just inconveniences that the market can adapt to, but major disruptions to the food chain.