MSC, Maersk crowned the world’s largest container carriers

MSC and A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) have been crowned as the two largest container carriers in the world, according to recent data from Alphaliner.

In the shipping analyst’s latest list of top shipping lines, MSC reached the top spot with a total capacity of 4,352,617 TEU across 665 ships. A further 102 vessels with the ability to carry 1,338,468 TEU are currently on order.

A representative from the company recently told PTI that it moved a total of 23 million TEU in 2021.

Maersk closely followed, with a capacity of 4,242,430 TEU across its 729 ships – the largest fleet recorded. It also has 29 vessels with a combined capacity of 319,100 TEU on order.

Last year, the Danish giant generated $48.2 billion across its ocean business, making it one of the highest earning carriers of 2021.

The company forecasts its EBITDA for 2022 to reach $30 billion, underlying EBIT to amount to $24 billion, and free cash flow to be above $19 billion. Previously EBITDA for the year was expected to total $24 billion.

This is based on the assumption that normalisation will occur in early H2 2022.

CMA CGM, COSCO Group, and Hapag-Lloyd were also amongst the top five carriers listed.


© Alphaliner
According to Feedering Analysis 2022: Trades, Operators, Hubs by Netherlands-based B.V., MSC and Maersk are also the world’s leading feeder providers.

The 10 largest feeder carriers provide around two-thirds of global feeder Annual Trade Capacity.
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