According to analysts, the world’s largest container shipping company, MSC, will continue to grow in the coming years and could also surpass the fleet of the “Gemini” alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
At the start of the “Gemini” alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd at the beginning of 2025, MSC’s container ship capacity is expected to be as large as that of the two partners combined.
MSC currently holds a market share of over 20%. This makes it the first shipping company with this level of market power since 2018, following a brief surge by Maersk. In the foreseeable future, its volume is expected to exceed six million TEU, according to analysts from the Danish agency Sea-Intelligence.
MSC fleet will grow to over seven million TEU
The growth is likely to continue: By April 2026, MSC should break the seven million mark. In order to make this prediction, the analysts looked at the current fleet size and orders for new ships, but also took into account the shipping company’s latest decisions regarding ships from the second-hand market, for example.
“MSC will grow considerably compared to the second largest container shipping company,” according to a Sea-Intelligence statement. CMA CGM will take second place with a volume of over 4.5 million TEU, just ahead of Maersk. The Danes will only be able to compete with MSC’s market power through the “Gemini” alliance with Hapag-Lloyd.
The forecast continues the previous market trend. The container shipping company, founded in 1970, took 37 years to reach a volume of one million TEU and then doubled it again in just four years. In January 2022, Maersk was replaced by MSC as the world’s largest container shipping company.
