Learn more about the largest container operators
Maersk Line: The largest container shipping company was founded in 1928. The Danish giant is now enjoying a global workforce of 79,000 empoyees across 130 countries and it operates more than 700 vessels that visit 343 ports worldwide. With over 4 million TEUs capacity, Maersk has a 17.7% of the market share in container shipping, leading the way.
MSC: The 49 years old ocean carrier climbed in the ranking very quickly in the last years. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland and it is, also, showing a great performance in the cruise sector. MSC has a fleet of 517 vessels, which calls on 315 ports. The market share level of MSC reaches at 14.5%.
COSCO: The traditional Chinese giant, owned by the government and based in Beijing, is very active in the port operations sector. COSCO became the third largest carrier of the world, when it merged with China Shipping Group and acquired OOCL. It has a 473 vessels fleet and the 2.7 million TEU capacity gives it 12.2% market share.
CMA CGM: The merger between Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) created the 4th larger shipping company. CMA CGM is based in Marseille and was founded in 1978. The company achieved to break into top10 in 2000. With 492 container vessels and 2.6 TEU capacity, it enjoys the 11.4% of the market. Recently, the founding president of CMA CGM, Mr. Jacques R. Saade, passed away at the age of 81.
Hapag-Lloyd: At the fifth position we find Hapag-Lloyd. The company based in Hamburg and is the outcome of the merger of Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL). Later on, in 2014, it merged with Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) to become a German-Chilean owned conglomerate. Hapag-Lloyd owns 223 container ships and a capacity of 1.6 million TEU gives it a 7.3% of the market share.
Ocean Network Express (ONE): ONE is the youngest member of the top10 and one of the youngest shipping companies worldwide. Founded in 2017, it is a result of the merger between Nippon Yusen Kaisha (38%), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (31%) and K Line (31%). ONE’s base is Singapore. It owns 220 vessels and a capacity of 1.5 million TEU, which represents 6.6% of the market share.
Evergreen: The Taiwanese carrier is based in Taoyuan. It was founded in 1968 and is in 7thposition. Evergreen has a 203 vessels fleet and a carrying capacity of 1.1 million TEU, which gives it 5.2% of market.
Yang Ming: Another Taiwan-based shipping company takes its seat in the top10 ranking. Yang Ming was founded in 1972 and is based in Keelung. Its 97 container ships can handle 656,491 TEU totally, which represents 2.9% of the market share.
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM): Founded 4 years after Yang Ming and based in South Korea, HMM is at the 9th position. In the first years, the company provided its services in the Far East – Middle East route. Now, it has expanded its network. With 77 vessels and 435,685 TEU capacity, HMM has a 1.9% of market share.
Pacific International Line (PIL): Founded in 1967 and based in Singapore, PIL is the 10thlargest carried of the world with 135 container ships. Although it owns more vessels than Yang Ming and HMM, its capacity is the smallest one. PIL can handle 414,439 TEU, which represents 1.8% of the market.
