15 Biggest Shipping Companies in the World

At least 11 billion tons of goods are transported by sea every year, which means an average of about 1.5 tons per person worldwide. Now that the world is more globalized than ever, shipping is at the pinnacle of today's global cycle
At least 11 billion tons of goods are transported by sea every year, which means an average of about 1.5 tons per person worldwide, based on the current world population. Now that the world is more globalized than ever, and goods made in the USA are in demand in China and vice versa, and consumer power has also increased significantly, and shipping is at the pinnacle of today's global cycle. If we look only at the European Union, in terms of volume, about 80% of exports and imports are by sea, mainly due to the fact that its capacity is much higher than that of aircraft, and also much cheaper. In value terms, imports and exports produced in the European Union account for about 50% of the value. In 2019, the value of the shipping industry worldwide was over $ 14 trillion.

Read also The Review of Maritime Transport 2020: pandemic cuts global maritime trade and transforms the shipping industry.

In this article, we are going to list the 15 largest shipping companies in the world.

15. IRISL Group

 IRISL Group
Iran's largest shipping company made our list despite the country's sanctions, which significantly limit business opportunities in that country. The company's revenue has dropped significantly over the years due to sanctions, which fell to below $ 1 billion.

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

14. Korea Marine Transport Company

Korea Marine Transport Company
The Korean company was founded in 1954 and is the largest shipping company in Korea and also has major operations in Korea and Japan.

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

13. Zhonggu Logistics

Zhonggu Logistics
One of China's largest shipping companies, Zhonggu Logistics, recently held an initial public offering in which it raised more than $ 200 million and plans to attract six more ships and climb the list of the world's largest shipping companies.

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

12. Pacific International Lines

Pacific International Lines
The Singapore-based company was founded 53 years ago and also has over 18,000 employees. It was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Chang Yun Chung, who was the world's oldest billionaire until he died at 102 in September 2020.

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

11. Wan Hai Lines

Wan Hai Lines
Wan Hai is a Taiwanese company with over 5,000 employees and was founded 55 years ago in 1965. In the beginning, Wan Hai's business was mainly in the transportation of logs between Taiwan, Japan, and Southeast Asia. In 1976, in order to respond to the rapid development of international trade in the Asia-Pacific region and the trend towards containerization of international shipping, Wan Hai began shipping container ships. More recently, Wan Hai has expanded its Asian delivery network to Canada, the United States, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

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

10. Zim Integrated Shipping Services

 Zim Integrated Shipping Services
Zim is the largest shipping company in Israel, founded 75 years ago in 1945, with revenues of over $ 4 billion and revenues of over $ 50 million. ZIM was founded by the Jewish Agency, the Israel Maritime League and Histadrut (General Federation of Workers of the Land of Israel) as ZIM Palestine Navigation Company Ltd. The first ship was purchased in partnership with Harris and Dixon (based in London) in 1947.

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

9. Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation
The Taiwanese company is 48 years old and has about a hundred vessels. The company was founded in 1972 as a shipping line but has historical ties through the merger with China Merchants Steam Navigation Company (1872–1995), which dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

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

8. Hyundai Merchant Marine

Hyundai Merchant Marine
One of the largest shipping companies in the world is South Korean Hyundai Merchant Marine, which was founded 44 years ago and launched two of the largest container ships in the world. HMM has formed a global business network with four international headquarters, 27 subsidiaries, 76 subsidiaries, five overseas offices, and 10 communications offices.

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

7. Evergreen Marine

Evergreen Marine
The company is a Taiwanese shipping company and earns over $ 4 billion annually along with over 3,000 employees. Its main trade routes are from the Far East to North America, Central America, and the Caribbean; from the Far East to Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean; Europe to the east coast of North America; The Far East to Australia, Mauritius, South Africa, and South America; and an intra-Asian service linking ports in Asia to the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

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

6. Ocean Network Express

Ocean Network Express
The company is jointly owned by several Japanese companies, headquartered in Singapore and Tokyo, and is the most recently formed company on our list, starting just 3 years ago in 2017. The company employs at least 14,000 people. The company, which began corporate activities and sales in October 2017, began trading in April 2018, with a holding company office in Tokyo, global headquarters in Singapore, and regional headquarters in London (Canary Wharf), Richmond, Hong Kong, and Sao Paulo. and local offices in 90 countries.

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

5. Hapag-Lloyd

 Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag Lloyd is the largest shipping company in Germany, founded 50 years ago in 1970. It is headquartered in Hamburg and has revenues of over $ 12 billion and employs 13,000 people. The company was formed on September 1, 1970 from the merger of two German shipping companies, Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG), founded in 1847, and Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) or North German Lloyd (NGL), which was formed. in 1857

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

4. CMA CGM

CMA CGM
France's largest shipping company is CMA CGM, headquartered in Marseille. The company was founded 42 years ago in 1978 and operates more than 200 shipping routes between 420 ports. The company operates in about 150 countries around the world and earned over $ 30 billion in 2019 alone, as well as $ 229 million in revenue, and has over 110,000 employees. The name is an abbreviation of two predecessor companies, Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM), which translates as "Sea Freight Company" and "General Marine Company".

TEU capacity of the company in 2020: 3 015 458

Total market share of the company in 2020: 12.5%

Number of ships owned by the company in 2020: 570

3. COSCO Shipping

 COSCO Shipping
The largest shipping company in China is Shanghai-based Cosco Shipping, a former Chinese state-owned transportation, and logistics company. The company came into being only in 2016 as a result of the merger of China Shipping Company and COSCO Group. It has one of the largest shipping fleets in the world.

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

2. Mediterranean Shipping Company

Mediterranean Shipping Company
Mediterranean Shipping Company is an Italian Swiss company founded half a century ago in 1970. The company operates in all ports of the world and for some time has been the second largest shipping company. The company has revenues of over $ 28 billion and a staff of over 30,000 people. MSC was founded in Naples in 1970 as a private company by seafarer captain Gianluigi Aponte, when he bought his first ship, Patricia, and then Rafaela, with which Aponte opened a shipping line between the Mediterranean and Somalia. Subsequently, the line expanded with the purchase of used cargo ships. By 1977, the company was serving Northern Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean. Expansion continued until the 1980s; by the end of the decade, MSC was serving ships to North America and Australia.

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

1. Maersk

 Maersk
The Danish company Maersk ranks first in the list of 15 largest shipping companies in the world. It is the largest shipping company in the world since 1996 and it looks like it has no intention of giving up its crown as its throughput surpassed 4 million TEU in 2020. Although listed in Denmark, the company is a family business and is controlled by the Möller family.

The company was founded 116 years ago in 1904 and generated more than $ 39 billion in revenue in 2019, while operating profit alone was about $ 3.8 billion and employed at least 79,000 people. Although it is headquartered in Copenhagen, it has subsidiaries and offices in most of the countries of the world, of which there are more than 125 at last count.

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
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