MSC expands market share to new heights

The gap is growing: while the Swiss liner shipping company MSC has achieved its largest market share to date, its nearest competitor Maersk has recorded its lowest level for 20 years. 

Last month saw a variety of developments among the world’s leading container shipping companies. The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) reached the peak of its fleet growth to date: the Swiss company’s market share grew to an unprecedented 21.5% of global container ship capacity, with a fleet of over 1,000 ships and around 7.3 million TEU.

According to data from the industry service provider Alphaliner, MSC continues to gain market share at the expense of other shipping companies. The company was the only competitor among the ten market leaders to record an all-time high this year. Since 2010, MSC has effectively doubled its market share.

Only Maersk had previously achieved a similar size ratio: In 2018, the Danes’ market share peaked at 19.3%. The shipping company is a long way off this year: in May, Maersk’s share of the entire fleet was 13.7%, its lowest level in 20 years.

Maersk focusing on fleet renewal

However, this “shrinkage” is a deliberate strategy on the part of the company. While MSC is pursuing a course of growth through newbuilds and second-hand purchases, Maersk has declared that it will focus on renewing its fleet with low-emission ships and integrated logistics solutions in order to achieve its strategic and financial goals. The current 4.7 million TEU are expected to decrease even further; Maersk is planning a long-term capacity of between 4.1 and 4.3 million TEU.

This brings the second and third place in the global ranking of liner shipping companies closer together: The French group CMA CGM is currently holding its own with a market share of 12.5% in the global fleet; it had reached its provisional peak of 12.9% in 2023. CMA CGM is pursuing an ambitious newbuilding program: If you take the sailing fleet and order books together, the French company’s capacity already exceeds that of Maersk.

Basically, the market has been concentrated on the ten largest shipping companies for years: In total, they account for 84.7% of global capacity. This share is only 0.1 percentage points below the historic high that the market reached in 2021. At that time, the major shipping companies were able to capitalize on the disruptions caused by the pandemic, and the ratio has largely remained at this level since then. The global “Top 10” are (as of June 11, 2026):

The takeover of the Israeli shipping company Zim by Hapag-Lloyd is likely to have an impact on the ranking in the coming months. As soon as the USD 4.2 billion transaction is completed – and currently everything points to this despite unexpected counter-offers – the Hamburg-based shipping company will be in a much more comfortable fifth place than before.

Movement in the lower segment

Among the “smaller” shipping companies in the market, Wan Hai (11th place) is the only company that has been able to continuously expand its market share since 2010. In 2022, the Taiwanese shipping company achieved a share of 1.7% and has been able to maintain this figure ever since. It is followed by Pacific International Lines (PIL) with a share of 1.3%, well below the peak of 2.1% in 2014.

“Among the shipping companies with a share of less than 1% of the global fleet, X-Press, SITC and KMTC proved to be the most consistent,” says Alphaliner. “They have maintained a market share of 0.5% to 0.8% over the past decade.”

Sealead Shipping has also been added in recent years, but its share has since fallen to below 0.1%. The reason for this is sanctions from the USA, as the shipping company allegedly has links to Iran. As a result, Sealead was forced to restructure and has dropped out of the ranking of the 30 largest shipping companies. Four of the ships have been approved for scrapping by the US authority OFAC. (JW)