The world’s largest container line, MSC, continues to expand its dominance, reaching an unprecedented market share of 19.8% of global container ship capacity. According to shipping analyst Alphaliner, MSC has added 400,000 TEU to its fleet this year alone.
MSC’s operated fleet now surpasses the previous record held by Maersk, which reached a peak market share of 19.4% in 2018. Maersk’s market share has declined consecutively over the past five years, currently standing at 14.4% as of July 2024, down from 15.2% in July 2023.
CMA CGM, the third-largest container line, has also seen a decline in market share, from 12.8% to 12.4% over the same period.
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MSC is poised to cross the 20% market share threshold soon, with 1.2 million TEU of capacity on order, equivalent to 20% of its existing fleet. CMA CGM has 1.15 million TEU of new building capacity on order, equivalent to 30.3% of its current fleet. In contrast, Maersk’s new build order book stands at 374,966 TEU, or 8.8% of its existing fleet, with a target fleet range of 4.1-4.3 million TEU.
The top 10 container shipping lines operate approximately 84% of the global fleet in terms of capacity.