Maersk cedes position as number one shipping company in the world to MSC

AP Moller-Maersk A / S is no longer the world’s largest container line. The Danish carrier has been overtaken by Mediterranean Shipping Co. in terms of capacity, according to data compiled by Alphaliner and published on Wednesday.

MSC’s fleet can carry 4’284,728 standard 20-foot containers, 1,888 more than Maersk, giving both a 17% market share.

Maersk, which first entered the container trade in 1975, has held the top spot for decades. The carrier has been a pioneer in the industry, often breaking records by building the largest ships.

More recently, it has invested in boats that can sail on carbon-neutral methanol. It still has the largest capacity in terms of its own vessels: MSC has around 65% of its chartered vessel capacity, while Maersk only has 42%.

After struggling to make money for much of the last decade, the container shipping industry has just had its most profitable year as pandemic-driven demand for consumer goods puts pressure on ship capacity. Shipping rates rose 81% last year, according to the Shanghai Container Shipping Index.

Maersk CEO Soren Skou reiterated last month that the number one spot is not important for the Copenhagen-based company, which is focusing investments on expanding its inland logistics where profit margins are highest.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” he said in an interview on December 22. “The important thing for us is to grow with our customers” by attracting existing customers to buy logistics services from Maersk rather than its rivals with an expanded offering in ground transportation, he said.

MSC, which is based in Geneva, has been led since 2020 by Soren Toft, a former heir apparent at Maersk. While poaching for a potential future CEO could deteriorate relationships between the companies, Maersk and MSC are still working together in areas such as a vessel-sharing partnership and a blockchain-based platform for sharing and streamlining shipping information.