In this article we are going to list the 15 biggest shipping companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 biggest shipping companies in the world. The shipping industry is one of the oldest industries in the world and one of the first true methods of transporting and facilitating international trade. Remember, airplanes are slightly over a century old and planes capable of carrying large weights are even more recent. Therefore, the only method left was shipping, through which goods could be sent over extremely long distances. The fact that it has continued being a major industry even though airplanes are much faster show that the value of economical and efficient transport through shipping still remains.
Every year, at least 11 billion tons of goods are transported through shipping, which means an average of around 1.5 tons per person across the world, based on the current population of the world. Now that the world is more globalized than ever and things being manufactured in the US are wanted in China and vice versa, and the power of the consumer has been increasing significantly as well, and shipping is a pinnacle of the modern global cycle. If we look at just the European Union, by volume, around 80% of the exports and imports made are through shipping, mainly due to its capacity of storage being much higher than airplanes as well as much cheaper. By value, the imports and exports made in the European Union are around 50% of the value. In 2019, the value of the shipping industry across the globe was worth more than $14 trillion.
Among the major products transported by the shipping companies are crude oil (approximately two billion tons), iron ore (approximately one billion tons), and grain (approximately 350 million tons). Due to the sheer weight of the products as well as the level of storage required, these goods could not be transported in this quantity by road, rail or air. And the importance of these products cannot be understated. They are raw materials for absolutely massive industries and integral for the proper functioning of the economy and some of the biggest companies in the world, more of which you can learn about if you visit the 15 biggest oil companies in the world and the top 10 largest agricultural companies by revenue in the US. Being unable to ship these goods in these quantities would lead to the collapse of industries worldwide and would also cause damage to the standard of living being enjoyed by people globally. Apart from these products, large volumes of chemical and manufactured goods are also transported through ship. If you want to learn more about the companies (whose revenue exceeds trillions of dollars), you might want to consider going through the 15 largest chemical companies in the world and the 15 biggest manufacturing companies in the world. Most global supply chains depend on shipping and this is why the shipping industry has created highly complex and technological logistics networks.
Pixabay/Public Domain
Like I said earlier, apart from the advantage of being able to provide large quantities of a product within the same shipment, another advantage is the low cost, and these two factors are intrinsically linked. Since the shame shipment can cover a large quantity of goods, the total shipment cost is divided by the quantity of goods, which means the cost of transporting just a single item is extremely low. This is why shipping is responsible for just 0.3 pence of a 2.5 pounds cup of coffee, or 20 pence for a 5 pound bottle of wine, or just $5 to a Nike trainer which costs $100. Also, the environmental footprint of shipping is much lower than other modes of transport, and this is extremely important in an environmentally conscious world which is just now witnessing the effects of climate change on the weather patters and the change in temperatures across the world. If we fail to act now, we will only be condemning the world as the weather patterns worsen and leave us in a disastrous place.
When the Covid-19 virus hit China, few would have predicted it would become a global pandemic which would cause more than 80 million cases and nearly 1.8 million deaths globally, affecting every continent including Antarctica and more than 200 countries and territories across the world. As countries across the world went into lockdowns, barring international travel, the shipping industry, which is responsible for around 90% of the international trade, was particularly hard hit. Further, as more and more companies went into recessions and depressions, trade reduced dramatically as uncertainty prevailed and this led to a decline in shipping. The main affected was the dry bulk segment which supplies iron ore, coal and grain. In a report in June, the decline in shipping year on year when compared to 2019 was 6%, though things may have improved since most lockdowns were lifted in summer. However, now that the second wave has hit and a new, more easily transferred variant has been discovered and lockdowns are being partially re-imposed, the next few months for the shipping industry seem quite uncertain and in the air right now.
The biggest shipping companies in the world are truly globally, in that they belong to various countries across the world and surprisingly, not a single one is from the United States. Companies listed in the United States such as Matson Inc. (NYSE:MATX), Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK), Globus Maritime Limited (NYSE:GLBS), Performance Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:PSHG) and Sino-Global Shipping America (NASDAQ:SINO) all missing out. Our rankings were based on the latest TEU capacity of each shipping company, while we have also mentioned the number of ships each company owns. Our list is dominated by Asia, with China having a particularly strong showing. So now let’s take a look at the champions of the shipping industry, starting with number 15:
15. IRISL Group
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 151,706
Total market share of the company in 2020: 0.6%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 47
Iran’s biggest shipping company has made our list despite the sanctions imposed on the country which greatly limits the business opportunities there. The company’s revenues have dropped significantly over the years due to the sanctions, which fell to below $1 billion.
Pixabay/Public Domain
14. Korea Marine Transport Company
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 161,584
Total market share of the company in 2020: 0.7%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 67
The Korean company was established in 1954 and is the biggest shipping company in Korea, and has major oeperations in Korea and Japan.
Oleksandr Kalinichenko / Shutterstock.com
13. Zhonggu Logistics
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 168,519
Total market share of the company in 2020: 0.7%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 114
One of China’s biggest shipping companies, Zhonggu Logistics recently had its IPO where it was able to raise more than $200 million and is all set to by six more vessels and move up the list of the biggest shipping companies in the world.
weerasak saeku/Shutterstock.com
12. Pacific International Lines
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 282,534
Total market share of the company in 2020: 1.2%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 89
Incorporated in Singapore, the company was founded 53 years ago and has more than 18,000 employees as well.
Pixabay/Public Domain
11. Wan Hai Lines
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 317,304
Total market share of the company in 2020: 1.3%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 116
Wan Hai is a Taiwanese company which has more than 5,000 employees and was founded 55 years ago in 1965.
Copyright: nightman1965 / 123RF Stock Photo
10. Zim Integrated Shipping Services
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 356,201
Total market share of the company in 2020: 1.5%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 80
Zim is the biggest shipping company in Israel, and was founded 75 years ago in 1945, which revenues of over $4 billion and income of more than $50 million.
Copyright: hxdyl / 123RF Stock Photo
9. Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 632,148
Total market share of the company in 2020: 2.6%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 92
The Taiwanese company is 48 years old and has close to a hundred ships.
Nightman1965/Shutterstock.com
8. Hyundai Merchant Marine
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 719,026
Total market share of the company in 2020: 3%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 72
One of the biggest shipping companies in the world is South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine, which was established 44 years ago and launched the two biggest container ships in the world.
bob63/Shutterstock.com
7. Evergreen Marine
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 1,279,412
Total market share of the company in 2020: 5.3%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 195
The company is a Taiwanese shipping company and earns more than $4 billion annually, along with more than 3,000 employees.
Nightman1965/Shutterstock.com
6. Ocean Network Express
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 1,577,156
Total market share of the company in 2020: 6.5%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 218
The company is jointly owned by multiple Japanese companies and is headquartered in both Singapore and Tokyo, and is the most recently established company in our list, having only come into existence 3 years ago in 2017. There are at least 14,000 employees in the company.
Please continue to see the 5 biggest shipping companies in the world.
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Disclosure: No position. 15 biggest shipping companies in the world is originally published at Insider Monkey.
