It is reported that the ranking of liner companies has changed a lot since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, not only Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has replaced Maersk as the "ship leader", but also 4 container liner companies from China have entered the global TOP50.
Sea-Intelligence showed in its latest report the rise in carrier rankings over the past two and a half years, and how these carriers are trying to break free from the charter market during the current sky-high market.
Since January 2020, there have been 7 shipping companies to enter the top 50, including 4 shipping companies from China.
CU Lines wasn't even in the top 100 before the COVID-19 pandemic, but now it operates a fleet of 82,070teu and becomes the 23rd largest shipping company in the world.
Similarly, BAL (Boya Shipping) registered in Hong Kong jumped from outside 100 to 46th, two places behind another new entrant, Transfar (Zhiyuan Shipping), which has a relationship with Alibaba, China's largest online retailer.
Meanwhile, Shanghai Jin Jiang's fleet has grown 124% over the same period and now ranks 38th in the 50-strong lineup.
New non-Chinese shipping companies to the top 50 list also include Pasha Hawaii, Tropical Shipping and FESCO. Despite sanctions over the past four months, FESCO has managed to maintain its size.
Also notable among the changes in the ranking of the largest liners during the Covid-19 pandemic are the disappearance of three well-known shipping companies - NileDutch, which was acquired by Hapag-Lloyd; Heung-A, which merged into Sinokor, and is now part of Unifeeder Transworld Feeders.
Sea-Intelligence also looked at how shipping companies turned to own tonnage rather than chartered tonnage during the pandemic. Fleet charter rates are falling for the vast majority of shipping lines.
In terms of carriers, they chartered 56% of their vessel capacity in January 2020, but that had dropped to 48% by June 2022.
Sea-Intelligence noted: “This is likely to be a clear reaction to the tight container market, leading carriers to try to exercise more control over their fleets in a market where charter rates are still astronomical.”
Post time: Dec-01-2022