MSC Overtakes Maersk

MSC's move to the top marked a shift in ocean shipping strategy, and the two leaders still take different approaches that affect shippers. In early January 2022, Alphaliner counted MSC at 4,284,728 TEU against Maersk's 4,282,840 TEU, a margin of 1,888 TEU, with each holding about 17% of global capacity. MSC had a much larger order book and kept growing quickly, while Maersk focused on becoming an end-to-end logistics provider. For shippers, the largest carrier offers broad port coverage and capacity, but carrier choice now also depends on network design, reliability, and whether you want ocean-only or bundled logistics services.

• Twenty-Foot Equivalent UnitTEUContainer capacity unit of one 20-foot box
• Contract RateFreight price locked in for a set term
• Full Container LoadFCLOne shipper's goods in a whole container

• Gianluigi Aponteb. 1940 · Founder of MSC
• Jacques Saadé1937–2018 · Founder of CMA CGM

• Maersk Acquires Sea-Land1999 · Maersk buys Sea-Land's international container line
• Ocean Carrier Alliance Realignment2017 · Three alliances come to dominate east-west trades
• Emma Maersk2006 · The largest container ship of its day enters service

1. MSC takes world's largest container line crown from Maersk (Seatrade Maritime) seatrade-maritime.com
2. Alphaliner confirms MSC has toppled Maersk at the top of the box rankings (World Ports) worldports.org