Top 40 Container Carriers

No carrier was untouched by a 22.4% drop in containerized US imports through May, with 36 of the 40 largest lines registering year-over-year volume declines, according to the Journal of Commerce’s Top 40 Container Carriers by US Imports and Exports.

The market share of major carriers on the eastbound trans-Pacific fell through the first four months of the year amid the emergence of smaller players who took advantage of the import surge.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. sat on top of the rankings for ocean carriers handling US imports while its 2M partner Maersk was top carrier on the export side.

Only eight of the JOC Top 40 Container Carriers by US Imports managed to increase volumes in the first five months of the year, none of which belong to one of the three major vessel-sharing alliances.

CMA CGM has joined the gray pool in Memphis, a win for those advocating for truckers to use any chassis for any container to eliminate chassis splits and other inefficiencies that cost shippers money.

COSCO Shipping and OOCL again handled the largest share of US container imports from Asia in 2019, while CMA CGM and APL maintained the top spot in westbound US–Asia trade, despite declining overall volumes.

Carriers’ growing experience in reducing short-term capacity without having to resort to more disruptive actions like eliminating full services is a profound change in the market that will help the carriers absorb blows that in the past would wipe away profits like a dustrag.

With growth in trade between Asia and North America projected to continue at a slow, steady pace in 2020, container carriers will be focused on keeping a floor on rates and recouping the added cost of low-sulfur fuels.

Cargo no-shows are down 75 percent on freight booked via the Maersk Spot guaranteed online booking platform, according to the container carrier.

Despite reporting a profitable second quarter, the Japanese container carrier has reduced its full-year earnings forecast by nearly one-third, citing concerns over a worsening global economic environment and an expected increase in bunker costs.

Container carriers in the slowing US import and export trades are exercising increased discipline, maintaining capacity levels rather than introducing new vessels in an attempt to secure a larger share of the market.

Carrier market share in the trans-Pacific is not expected to change much in the next few months, in part because carriers will manage capacity by blanking individual sailings and deploying extra-loader vessels to handle import surges.

It was a modest second quarter result, but Maersk Line continues to improve its profitability by improving reliability and resisting any temptation to chase market share.

Evergreen Marine has plunged deeper into the mega-ship operating space, ordering another 11 ships in addition to the 11 that are already being built and delivered.

Carriers are going beyond setting up logistics arms and instead making the end-to-end reach a full company play rather than standalone attempt to offer the higher value and margin services as the NVOs they compete and partner with.

Carriers and shippers alike must adapt to the new realities of a container shipping market in which only a handful of large players control the vast majority of capacity.

Spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific this week got a pop from the pending July 1 GRIs, but economists are predicting a slow-growth year for the US economy, and carriers’ only hope to keep pricing from declining this peak season is to manage capacity through blank sailings.

The shipping sector is lacking investments in effective carbon reducing technologies, threatening to miss IMO 2050 targets for decarbonization, according to a recent report from CDP.

The 90-day suspension from the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism means the container line will no longer enjoy “trusted trader” status, increasing the likelihood of import shipment delays.

After years of undercutting each other on rates to gain market share and the resulting waves of consolidation, large container carriers seem to have come to a realization that they will sink or swim together.

The Ocean Alliance’s announcement of three blank sailings in June puts carriers and BCOs on alert that additional cancellations are likely if shipments from China continue to drop in the coming months.

The French shipping group will rationalize its container carrier brands, with APL serving the trans-Pacific, Asia-Indian Subcontinent, Asia-Oceania, and US-flag trades, ANL focusing on Oceania, and CNC on intra-Asia.

A proposal to impose mandatory speed limits on ocean vessels faces an uncertain future after being tabled at last week’s meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee.

In the latest step in the ocean carrier’s transformation into a “global integrator” of container logistics, Maersk Line has folded in the inland services formerly operated by APM Terminals.

Digital Container Shipping Association officials say improving standards around cargo visibility is a top priority of the new carrier coalition.

The European Commission is eyeing Cosco’s deepening reach into the European port sector, as well as the broader issue of state subsidies to Asia-based carriers and shipyards.

Adding five new members may give the Digital Container Shipping Association the quorum needed to press forward with the development of standard data protocols.

The Chinese state-run ocean carrier and fellow Asia-based lines are slowly revealing plans that tilt toward deeper logistics services beyond conventional ocean shipping, with a distinctive Asian focus.

Most beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) and NVOs are agreeing to pay higher base rates this year in the hope that container carriers will be less inclined to hit them with premiums of as much as $1,000 per container, as occurred during the peak autumn months last year.

Container carriers will have to remove nearly every vessel from service for at least a week to transition to low-sulfur fuel as mandated by the IMO, but BCOs hope that carriers don't use this as a way to manipulate capacity during the peak season.

The container carrier’s latest efforts to provide integrated, end-to-end logistics services is helping it to make inroads in the Indian cold chain market.

Container carrier schedule reliability in the eastbound trans-Pacific has bounced back from record lows in early 2019 but still lags global on-time performance by quite a bit.

Chinese state-owned Cosco Shipping is one of several Asian and European ocean carriers that are increasingly focused on providing customers with deeper logistics services that go beyond conventional ocean shipping strategies.

The merged container operations of Japan's three largest ocean carriers got off to a dismal start as it launched operations in April 2018, which helped drag down revenue.

Container lines with the financial muscle — or state backing — are forging ahead with strategies aimed at controlling a greater portion of the container supply chain.

The injection of vessels comes as demand growth of Asia-Europe westbound volume slows.

CEVA Logistics wants shareholders to bear in mind the benefits of its strategic partnership with CMA CGM and turn down a bid by the carrier, highlighting the growth inherent in the company.

Bunker surcharges have been revised by carriers to mitigate the effect of the IMO sulfur cap of 0.5 percent starting Jan. 1, 2020.

Shippers are concerned that they will pay for service consolidation.

Shippers can expect a far more aggressive approach to matching vessel supply with demand.