NEWS & BLOG
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-01-08 Origin: Site
As 2026 kicks off, the capacity landscape of the global container shipping market has taken on a new look. According to the latest data released by Alphaliner on January 4, 2026, the total number of operational container ships worldwide has reached 7,498, with an overall capacity of 33.69 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
In the latest global container liner capacity rankings, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) retains the top position with a capacity of 7.136 million TEU. Its capacity gap with the second-ranked Maersk (4.612 million TEU) has widened to 2.524 million TEU. CMA CGM Group (4.140 million TEU) ranks third. The companies ranked 4th to 10th are COSCO SHIPPING Lines, Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Evergreen Marine, HMM, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services respectively.
The combined capacity of the world’s top 10 liner companies amounts to 28.348 million TEU, accounting for 84.1% of the global total capacity, maintaining the same market concentration as a year ago.
Over the past year, the total capacity of the world’s top 30 liner companies has increased by 2.197 million TEU, a growth rate of 7.5%, accounting for 97.8% of the global total capacity increment during the same period. Among them, MSC registered the largest capacity increase of 0.831 million TEU, a surge of 13.2%; CMA CGM Group followed closely with a capacity growth of 0.308 million TEU. In terms of growth rate, GLOBAL FEEDER led the pack with a 71.2% increase, while GRIMALDI, United Feeder Services (UFS), Sinotrans Container Lines and PIL (Pacific International Lines) also posted growth rates exceeding 15%. Notably, Sea Lead Shipping saw its capacity plummet by 0.106 million TEU year-on-year, and ZIM’s capacity also decreased by 0.075 million TEU.
In terms of newbuilding orders, global container ship new orders hit a new high in 2025, totaling a record-breaking 645 vessels with a capacity of over 5.1 million TEU. To date, the global orderbook has exceeded 1,165 vessels with a total capacity of approximately 11.3 million TEU, equivalent to 33.5% of the capacity of the existing fleet. Among them, the orderbook of the top 30 liner companies accounts for 89.3% of the global total new orders, indicating that new orders are mainly dominated by leading players. Specifically, MSC holds the largest orderbook with 2.05 million TEU; the ratio of CMA CGM Group’s orderbook to its existing capacity is as high as 45.5%; this ratio for COSCO SHIPPING Lines also reaches 38.1%. Some companies are significantly expanding their fleets through newbuilding programs. For example, the orderbook of Regional Container Lines (RCL) of Thailand is equivalent to 145.9% of its existing capacity, while the ratios for TS Lines and WAN HAI LINES stand at 72.7% and 67.4% respectively.
| Rank | Company | Capacity (10,000 TEU) | Year-on-Year Change (10,000 TEU) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) | 713.6 | +83.1 (+13.2%) | Largest capacity increment; orderbook stands at 2.05 million TEU |
| 2 | Maersk | 461.2 | +18.7 | Orderbook accounts for 21.2% of existing capacity |
| 3 | CMA CGM Group | 414.0 | +30.8 | Orderbook accounts for 45.5% of existing capacity |
| 4 | COSCO SHIPPING Lines | 358.6 | +24.5 | Orderbook accounts for 38.1% of existing capacity |
| 5 | Hapag-Lloyd | 239.0 | +10.6 | Orderbook stands at 0.473 million TEU |
| 6 | Ocean Network Express (ONE) | 207.8 | +10.6 | Capacity growth exceeds 0.1 million TEU |
| 7 | Evergreen Marine | 195.8 | +20.0 | Orderbook accounts for 43.8% of existing capacity |
| 8 | HMM | 102.7 | +12.1 | Capacity growth exceeds 0.1 million TEU |
| 9 | Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation | 76.0 | +5.2 | —— |
| 10 | ZIM Integrated Shipping Services | 75.8 | -7.5 | Year-on-year capacity decrease |
