As global trade continues to grow, the shipping industry is becoming increasingly important in international logistics. Shipping companies are not only an important part of the global supply chain, but also play a key role in promoting global economic development. In 2025, the global shipping market is still highly competitive. Here is the latest ranking of the world’s top ten shipping companies, which are leading in market share, capacity, service network and industry influence.
MSC – Mediterranean Shipping Company
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Fleet size: about 800 ships
Market share: No. 1 in the world
MSC, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has woven a huge operating network around the world. Its business scope covers short-distance regional transportation to long-distance international shipping across the ocean. It has branches or agency points in major ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and other continents, with a total of more than 500 service outlets. For example, in Asia, it has complete operating facilities in important ports such as Shanghai, Singapore, and Busan, South Korea, which can quickly and efficiently handle cargo loading and unloading, transshipment and other operations, providing customers with convenient one-stop services.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has surpassed Maersk in recent years and has remained the world’s largest container shipping company. The company continues to expand its fleet size, adopt more environmentally friendly fuels, and optimize shipping efficiency through technological innovation.
Maersk Line
Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
Fleet size: about 730 ships
Market share: second in the world
Founded in 1904, Maersk is a Danish shipping giant with a long history. In the course of more than 100 years of development, Maersk has witnessed and participated in many changes and developments in the global shipping industry. Starting from the initial small-scale shipping business, it has gradually developed into a comprehensive shipping group with business covering container shipping, logistics, terminal operations and other fields. Its profound historical heritage has accumulated rich industry experience and extensive customer resources for the company, and established a very high brand awareness and reputation in the global shipping market.
Maersk is one of the world’s most well-known shipping brands, focusing on end-to-end logistics solutions. In recent years, the company has increased its investment in green shipping and plans to promote methanol-powered ships in the next few years and strengthen the development of digital logistics platforms to improve supply chain efficiency.
CMA CGM Group
Headquarters: Marseille, France
Fleet size: about 600 ships
Market share: third in the world
Founded in 1978, CMA CGM is an international shipping group from France with an operating capacity of 3,635,418 TEUs and 634 ships. CMA CGM provides diversified services, including container transportation, logistics and freight management. Its service network covers more than 200 ports around the world. Whether on busy European and American routes or on emerging routes such as Africa and South America, CMA CGM can be seen. The company meets the diverse needs of different customers with its innovative transportation solutions and efficient services.
CMA CGM has strong competitiveness in Asia-Europe, Trans-Pacific and South American routes. In recent years, the company has expanded its business through acquisitions and strategic cooperation, actively developed carbon-neutral shipping solutions, and promoted liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ships to reduce carbon emissions.
COSCO Shipping Lines
Headquarters: Shanghai, China
Fleet size: about 500 ships
Market share: fourth in the world
Founded in 1961, COSCO Shipping is China’s largest shipping company and one of the world’s leading shipping groups. After years of development, COSCO Shipping has gradually grown from a traditional shipping company to a comprehensive shipping group integrating shipping, logistics, terminals, ship repair and other businesses.
COSCO Shipping has a strong market influence in countries along the “Belt and Road”. In recent years, COSCO Shipping has strengthened the application of intelligent shipping technology and actively invested in overseas ports to enhance the integration capabilities of the global supply chain.
Hapag-Lloyd
Headquarters: Hamburg, Germany
Fleet size: about 250 ships
Market share: fifth in the world
Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s major shipping companies. Hapag-Lloyd occupies a key position in the European shipping market, with an operating capacity of 2,004,030 TEUs and 274 ships. The company has won a good reputation on major shipping routes in Europe and the world with its high-quality services and stable operations.
Hapag-Lloyd is one of the major shipping companies in Europe and occupies an important position in the American and European markets. In recent years, the company has focused on digital upgrades and invested in green energy to promote the development of low-emission shipping.
Evergreen Marine Corporation
Headquarters: Taipei, Taiwan, China
Fleet size: about 210 ships
Market share: sixth in the world
Evergreen Marine Corporation was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, China. It is a company focusing on global container shipping services. After years of development, Evergreen Marine has become a leading company in Taiwan’s shipping industry, with an operating capacity of 1,648,821 TEUs and 212 ships. Evergreen Marine has established a good brand image in the global shipping market with its efficient, reliable and innovative services.
Evergreen Marine Corporation has a large global service network, and its routes cover major ports around the world. Whether on the busy trans-Pacific route or on the Asia-Europe route connecting Europe and Asia, Evergreen Marine Corporation has intensive flight services. In Asia, Evergreen Marine Corporation maintains close cooperation with ports in mainland China, Japan, South Korea and other countries and regions, and optimizes port operation processes to improve cargo loading and unloading efficiency and ensure timely transportation of goods. At the same time, Evergreen Marine is also actively expanding into emerging markets and continuously improving its route layout in South America, Africa and other regions to provide global customers with a wider range of transportation options.
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL)
Headquarters: Hong Kong, China
Fleet size: about 100 ships
Market share: seventh in the world
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is an important subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING, focusing on trans-Pacific and Asian routes. In recent years, the company has strengthened the application of digital logistics technology and improved the efficiency of the global supply chain by optimizing the route network.
NYK Line
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Fleet size: about 90 (container ships), total fleet over 700
Market share: 8th in the world
NYK Line is the abbreviation of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, one of the world’s largest freight shipping companies. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and was founded in 1885. NYK Line provides a variety of shipping and logistics related services, such as container shipping, bulk shipping and car shipping. .
NYK is one of the three largest shipping companies in Japan. In addition to container shipping, it is also involved in bulk shipping, car shipping and cruise business. The company has invested heavily in green shipping and actively developed hydrogen energy and wind-powered ships to reduce carbon emissions.
MOL – Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Fleet size: about 80 (container ships), overall fleet of more than 800 ships
Market share: ninth in the world
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is one of the world’s major shipping and logistics companies. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and began operations in 1884. Currently, the company has one of the largest and most diverse fleets in the world, including container ships, bulk carriers, tankers and LNG carriers. The services provided include but are not limited to container shipping, dry bulk shipping, heavy cargo transportation and energy resource transportation.
MOL is one of the leading companies in the Japanese shipping industry, focusing on diversified shipping business. In recent years, the company has made significant investments in LNG-powered ships and automated shipping technology to improve shipping safety and environmental standards.
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM)
Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea
Fleet size: about 70 (container ships), the overall fleet exceeds 400
Market share: 10th in the world
Hyundai Merchant Marine was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the largest shipping companies in South Korea. The company has an operating capacity of 797,327 TEUs, and its 71 ships are active in major shipping routes around the world. Hyundai Merchant Marine plays an important role in South Korea’s foreign trade and undertakes the import and export transportation of a large number of goods.
Hyundai Merchant Marine provides comprehensive global shipping services, and its business scope covers areas such as container transportation, bulk cargo transportation and logistics services. In terms of container transportation, Hyundai Merchant Marine improves transportation efficiency and ensures that goods are delivered on time by optimizing route layout and ship scheduling. In the field of bulk cargo transportation, the company has a professional bulk cargo fleet that can transport various types of bulk cargo such as coal and ore. In terms of logistics services, Hyundai Merchant Marine integrates upstream and downstream resources to provide customers with one-stop logistics solutions such as warehousing, distribution, and customs declaration.