The container shipping fleet has seen strong growth over the past few decades to accommodate rising world trade volumes. Carriers have expanded their fleet through organic growth (such as MSC), or through a combination of organic growth and M&A activity (such as Maersk).
At present, the top 20 container carriers operate a fleet capacity (owned and chartered) of about 24 million TEU.
The PortGraphic, prepared by PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom points to some striking facts about the spectacular growth in the container fleet:
- The combined fleet capacity of the top two carriers, MSC and Maersk, already surpassed the capacity of the top 20 carriers in 2007, just 15 yeears ago.
- MSC’s current fleet capacity is about one million TEU higher than the combined capacity of the top 20 carriers in 2000, just 22 years ago. Note that MSC has an orderbook totalling 1.7 million TEU.
- In 1980, the combined fleet capacity of the top 20 carriers amounted to some 435,000 TEU. Wan Hai Lines, the no. 11 in the current container carrier ranking, operates a fleet of the same magnitude.
