MSC Achieves Record Market Share in Container Shipping

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has reached an unprecedented market share of 19.8%, the highest ever recorded by a carrier, according to Alphaliner. The Geneva-based carrier has added about 400,000 TEU to its fleet this year, increasing its share of the operated fleet to a record level by the end of July.

The achievement surpasses the previous record set by Maersk in 2018, which peaked at a 19.4% market share.

Other carriers like Israel’s ZIM, Japan’s Ocean Network Express, and Hapag-Lloyd have also experienced market share increases this year. ZIM surpassed Taiwan’s Yang Ming for the first time since 2011, gaining an additional 0.2% market share to reach a total of 2.4%. Japan’s Ocean Network Express grew its market share from 5.9% to 6.4% year-on-year, while Hapag-Lloyd’s share rose from 6.8% to 7.2%.

Despite a temporary boost from the delivery of 25 newbuildings, Maersk’s market share has continued to decline as its pursues non-shipping growth as part of its strategy to become an end-to-end logistics provider. Alphaliner notes that the company plans to cap its fleet size at 4.1-4.3 million TEU, limiting its market share growth compared to competitors like MSC and CMA CGM.

Elsewhere, CMA CGM and HMM recorded small decreases in market share relative to their size, while Evergreen and Yang Ming saw larger declines.

The top 10 carriers continue to dominate the container shipping market, collectively representing 83.9% of the operated fleet as of the end of July, a slight decrease from the 84.0% registered a year ago.

“This ‘new normal’ follows a spike during COVID when well-resourced lines turbocharged their fleets to benefit from pandemic rates and increasing the top 10 share from previous levels of 82-83%,” Alphaliner said in its report. 

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