This Liner Giant Invests 100,000 TEU Capacity in The Intra-Asia Market
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-09-12 Origin: Site
According to the latest statistics from Alphaliner, over the past 12 months, Maersk has increased its capacity deployment on intra-Asia routes by 100,000 TEU. As of August 2025, Maersk’s capacity in this market reached 298,000 TEU, a year-on-year growth of 52%.
Hapag-Lloyd, another member of the "Gemini Alliance", also achieved significant capacity growth on intra-Asia routes—its capacity nearly doubled in one year, with an increase rate of 97%.
In its latest weekly market report, Alphaliner analyzed: "The main driver behind the substantial capacity growth of these two giants is the formation of the 'Gemini Alliance', which has prompted them to operate more regional feeder services in Asia to build a hub-and-spoke route network."
According to Alphaliner’s statistics, the total current capacity of the intra-Asia route market is approximately 2.4 million TEU, with COSCO Shipping ranking first in the capacity list with 300,000 TEU.
Additionally, the organization estimates that the annual cargo volume of intra-Asia routes exceeds 60 million TEU, compared to 25-30 million TEU for trans-Pacific routes and 24-26 million TEU for Asia-Europe routes. Moreover, the cargo demand for intra-Asia routes is still on the rise.
Alphaliner further stated that the overall GDP growth rate of ASEAN is expected to continue surpassing the global average, India is emerging as an important manufacturing and consumption center, and China’s transition from an exporter to an importer will also bring more market opportunities. Meanwhile, as enterprises implement the "China + 1" manufacturing strategy, production will be increasingly dispersed to countries such as Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, reshaping the trade landscape and driving sustained growth in market transportation demand.
Some analysts predict that the cargo volume of the intra-Asia route market may reach 80 million TEU within the next decade.
Furthermore, from the perspective of freight rates, while major trunk routes such as trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes remain weak, freight rates for intra-Asia routes have maintained an upward trend.
Statistics from Clarksons show that in the first half of 2025, the freight rate index for intra-Asia routes increased by 11.43% year-on-year. According to data from Container Trade Statistics (a UK-based shipping data service), the actual freight rates for intra-Asia routes have risen by 15%-25% year-on-year since 2025.
However, as more giant enterprises increase their investment in the intra-Asia route market, competition is becoming increasingly fierce. In particular, the advantages of liner giants in route networks, unit costs, and service quality will inevitably impact small and medium-sized enterprises. This requires all market participants to avoid homogeneous competition, emphasize differentiation and characteristics more, and build irreplaceable business features to cope with the market calmly.
