In this article we are going to list the 5 biggest shipping companies in the world. For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list please take a look at the 15 biggest shipping companies in the world.
5. Hapag-Lloyd
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 1,730,615
Total market share of the company in 2020: 7.2%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 240
Hapag Lloyd is the biggest shipping company in Germany and came into existence 50 years ago in 1970. It is headquartered in Hamburg, and has more than $12 billion in revenue as well as at last 13,000 employees.
Dale Stagg/Shutterstock.com
4. CMA CGM
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 3,015,485
Total market share of the company in 2020: 12.5%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 570
The biggest shipping company in France is CMA CGM, which is headquartered in Marseille. The company was founded 42 years ago in 1978 and makes use of more than 200 shipping routes which are between 420 ports. The company is active in around 150 countries in the world and earned more than $30 billion in 2019 alone, along with $229 million in income and has more than 110,000 employees.
Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock.com
3. COSCO Shipping
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 3,022,882
Total market share of the company in 2020: 12.5%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 503
The biggest shipping company in China is the Cosco Shipping company, which is headquartered in Shanghai and focused on marine transport services. The company only came into existence in 2016 through the merger of China Shipping Company and COSCO Group. It has one of the biggest fleets of any shipping company in the world.
itsajoop/Shutterstock.com
2. Mediterranean Shipping Company
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 3,860,388
Total market share of the company in 2020: 16%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 579
The Mediterranean Shipping Company is an Italian Swiss company which was founded half a century ago in 1970. The company maintains operations in all ports of the world, and has been the second biggest shipping company for a while. The company had revenues of more than 28 billion while it has more than 30,000 employees.
Pixabay/Public Domain
1. Maersk
Twenty foot equivalent (TEU) capacity of the company in 2020: 4,097,898
Total market share of the company in 2020: 16.9%
Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 705
Topping the list of the 5 biggest shipping companies in the world is Maersk, which is a Danish company. It has been the largest shipping company in the world since 1996 and seems to be in no mood of giving up its crown, with its TEU capacity crossing 4 million in 2020. While it is publicly traded in Denmark, the company is a family business and controlled by the Møller family.
The company was founded 116 years ago in 1904, and in 2019, attained revenues of more than $39 billion, while the operating income alone was around $3.8 billion, and provided employment to at least 79,000 people. While it is headquartered in Copenhagen, it has subsidiaries and offices across most countries in the world, which at the last count exceeded 125.
Oliver Hoffmann/Shutterstock.com
