Hmm, that's not quite what I was getting at. By way of example, imagine a company that monopolises a certain shipping route. They might standardise the fleet b

Hmm, that's not quite what I was getting at. By way of example, imagine a company that monopolises a certain shipping route. They might standardise the fleet by using the same model of boat as it saves maintenance costs. However, if an underlying defect is found on that boat, it can now take the entire route out of action. A monopoly might also try to finely tune the system so that there's very little redundancy at each port. They can do this because they have a plan for what goods are going to be where for the next few months. However, the system is now extremely vulnerable to natural disasters or global events that cause dramatic shifts in supply and demand.