Finding the largest shipping companies on earth is quite a bit of a challenge. At first, I thought this was an easy task.
Just by thinking about the ships I see while sailing, it’s deceiving to conclude the company behind them is the biggest.
Sailing for more than ten years made me think that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) could be the largest since I always see them everywhere.
Or perhaps, companies specializing in tanker ships could be big too since this world is run by oil. Even vessels are fueled by oil so this would be a no-brainer.
But as I dive deeper into the web and company profiles, I slowly realize that one question that keeps bugging me.
How do I measure the size of a company?
How do you measure the size of a shipping company?
Well, there are various criteria that you can employ.
As I continued my research, I found other articles narrating the largest companies in the shipping world. However, they reviewed only a certain category of the shipping industry.
For example, we can rank the largest shipping company based on their market share or twenty-equivalent units (TEU) capacity. Alphaliner does a great job at that!
But that’s only the container shipping industry. How about other companies operating on cruise ships, bulk carriers, drill ships, tanker vessels, and many others?
Fleet Size, Market Share, and DWT
Another way to find the largest shipping company is through their fleet size. However, as I continued my journey, I met another wall. Companies have ships of varying sizes and numbers.
Even if we use the total deadweight of their fleet, it still doesn’t accurately measure the company size.
Why?
Because some of them have subsidiaries or hold stakes in other shipping companies. How much of the DWT do they share?
Market share is also more complicated. Comparing the market share between the oil market, container market, and cruise market is like debating which tastes better- apples, grapes, or oranges.
Methodology
To measure the size of a company operating various types of ships, we must use a denominator that they commonly share. The criteria must be simple and easy to understand.
Since there are many metrics to consider in finding the size of a company, I decided to use their trailing twelve-month revenue.
Previously, I used a company’s Enterprise Value and its Market Capitalization. However, I found that revenue, specifically the trailing twelve-month revenue, offers a more direct and comprehensive measure of a company’s size.
Additionally, I compiled a table of these companies with their enterprise value, Market Cap, and net income for the last 12 months. You can see them at the end of this post.
Revenue
Revenue, also known as sales or turnover, is a measure of a company’s ability to generate income.
Put simply, revenue is the total amount of money that a company receives from its customers in exchange for goods or services.
Revenue is a common way to measure the size of a shipping company. It is easy to compare companies of different sizes and specialties using revenue.
Potential buyers, investors, and industry analysts often consider revenue when evaluating shipping businesses.
Largest Shipping Companies Per Revenue
The Maritime industry plays a major role in keeping the supply chains running which in turn fuels globalization.
Since shipping is a worldwide business, the biggest companies extend their services to all over the world. They have offices in the US, China, Canada, and all throughout the seven continents.
Starting from the 10th spot, here are the largest shipping companies on earth.
10. Evergreen Line
With its primary base of operation in Taiwan, Evergreen Marine Corporation operates in about 240 ports worldwide across 80 countries.
Previously at number seven on the roster, they currently rank as the 10th largest container fleet in the world with 215 fully containerized ships moving 1.7 million TEUs.
You can easily spot these ships because of their green hull with a huge stencil mark on their side with the letters “EVERGREEN”. They also have a history of blocking the Suez Canal with Ever Given.
For the last twelve months, this company’s net income was around US$2.25 billion from its revenue of US$10.56 billion.
When it comes to market cap, this is the “cheapest” company among the top ten which is currently valued at US$7.06 billion.
9. Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL)
Mitsui Osaka Shosen Kaisha Lines remains consistently at the ninth place despite having two entrants on the ranking.
MOL resulted from the merger of two companies- the Osaka Shosen Kaisha and Mitsui Steamship Co., Ltd.
The company operates bulk ships, tankers, container ships, cruise/ ferry/ domestic shipping, terminals and logistics, and tugboat operations.
Currently, it owns the second-largest fleet in the world with hundreds of ships of different types.
Though they were previously in the 7th place, these figures helped them maintain among the top 10 largest shipping companies in the world.
The company is worth US$12.38 billion (market cap) with a trailing twelve-month revenue of US$10.7 billion.
8. Ocean Network Express (ONE)
Ocean Network Express is a newcomer in our list. Jointly owned by NYK, MOL, and KLine, this Japanese giant waves a US$14.54B revenue instantly earning them the top 8 in our ranking.
ONE is easily recognisable with their fleet having a magenta pink hull with a huge embossed O-N-E painted in white.
Founded in 206, Ocean Network Express secures the 6th place of Alphaliner’s Top 100 as they handle 1.9 million TEUs which is equivalent to 6.3% of the total market share.
7. Royal Caribbean Group (RCG)
Royal Caribbean International previously belonged to the 3rd spot on the world’s largest shipping agency. But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the third largest cruise ship company in the world, Royal Caribbean Group was also severely hit by the pandemic. But they are recovering now and their “WOW Effect” is coming to light again.
RCI’s enterprise value stands at US$76.09 billion dollars with a market cap of US54.96 billion.
Now that everything’s back to normal, they posted a record-breaking profit of US$2.6 billion from their revenue of US$16.05 billion.
As of March 2024, Royal Caribbean Group owns three cruise lines:
- Royal Caribbean International
- Celebrity X Cruises
- Silversea Cruises
- TUI Cruises (50% stake)
- Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (50% stake)
The total combined fleet stands at 65 cruise vessels calling on more than 1,000 destinations on all seven continents.
6. Hapag-Lloyd AG
Hapag-Lloyd is a merger between two German companies Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and North German Lloyd (NGL).
With 258 modern ships, Hapag Lloyd ranks as 5th largest container shipping company on the planet and the 6th largest shipping company in the world. They own 7.4% share of the global container shipping market.
This company transports 2.29 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year to 600 ports in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America.
With an enterprise value of US$31.73 billion, the company managed to earn US$16.7 billion in revenue and a positive net income of US$765.3 million.
5. NYK Group
Established in September 1885, NYK Group was an outcome of the merger between Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company and Kyodo Unyu Kaisha.
Their integration resulted in the adoption of its present name, the Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Group).
Fleet and Offices
Starting with 58 steamships in 1885, the company expanded its fleet to 802 vessels with offices in 61 countries and regions. They employ 35,500 people in Europe, Asia, the US, and North, Central, and South America.
Their main office is in Japan.
NYK operates container ships, bulk carriers, tankers, car carriers, multi-purpose carriers, and many other types of merchant ships.
If you want to buy this company, its worth (enterprise value) is about US$19.89 billion.
Residing at the eighth spot in 2020, they are now in the 5th spot of the world’s largest shipping company on the planet.
From time to time, NYK offers maritime scholarships to deserving cadets in universities.
It would be an honor to work in the 5th largest shipping company in the world.
4. Carnival Corporation & Plc
Just like Royal Caribbean Group, Carnival Corporation also slid from the second spot after the coronavirus pandemic.
However, they are still the biggest cruise ship company in the world with shares and subsidiaries from other cruise companies.
Their combined fleet totals 91 vessels across 7 cruise line brands.
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Carnival UK
- Holland America Line
- Princess Cruises
- Carnival China
- Costa Cruises
- Aida Cruises
These vessels visit 700 ports around the world hosting 13 million guests annually.
After of the pandemic, their net income soared to US$1.56 billion with their US$24.48 billion in revenue.
The company is priced at US$29.40 billion (Market Cap) making it the 4th largest shipping company on the planet.
If you wish to work in the largest cruise ship company in the world, their subsidiaries have various manning agencies.
You can get in touch with them by sending application letters online.
3. COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd.
Headquartered in Shanghai, this Chinese giant offers multinational transportation services, stevedoring, chartering, and shipbuilding.
Last 2019, COSCO Shipping handled a shipping volume of 25.739 million TEUs representing an increase of 2.7%. It was also included in FORTUNE China 500 which topped at 75th on the list.
After the pandemic, COSCO managed to raise US$5.69 billion in net income after taking US$30.29 billion in revenues.
This company was one of the top 3 largest shipping companies in the world before the pandemic and still retains the spot.
If you want to buy this company, it’s actually “cheaper” due to its debt. It has an enterprise value of US$18.81 billion.
This is a significant dip from 2023 when it was valued at US$22.65 billion dollars (enterprise value).
2. CMA-CGM Group (The Dark Horse)
Since I can’t find actual data from this company few years back, I labeled it as my dark horse.
I know they’re big but I just can’t fathom how big they are. But now, I have finally have some data.
Standing at the second place is the French company CMA-CGM Group which is headquartered in Marseille, France.
CMA-CGM’s 2023 revenue dropped to US$47 billion from US$74.5 billion a year before. Still, the company secures its second spot in our list.
The company is present in 160 countries through 400 offices, 750 warehouses, 155,000 employees and a wide fleet of 648 vessels.
As per Alphaliner Top 100, CMA-CGM Group ranks in the 3rd place. The company’s market share stands at 12.3%.
1. A.P. Møller Maersk
Still number one on my list even after I managed to get some data on the true largest shipping company.
Established in 1904, A.P. Møller Maersk became the largest container ship and supply vessel operator since 1996.
The company has gone through many mergers, acquisitions, and sales of its subsidiaries.
In 2017, A.P. Møller Maersk sold Maersk Tankers to APMH Invest. They also acquired Hamburg Sud that same year.
A year later, they sold Maersk Oil to Total S.A.
Even with the series of sales on some of their subsidiaries, A.P. Møller Maersk holds the title of the number one largest shipping company in the world.
In container shipping alone, they rank number two with a market share of 14.3% moving 4,402,190 TEUs worldwide.
Despite raking a trailing-twelve-month (TTM) revenue of US$52.63 billion their enterprise value only stands at US$36.09 billion.
For context of their growth, in 2020, Maersk’s EV was only US$44.28 billion.
0. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
It was really hard to find actual financial data on the Mediterranean Shipping Company or MSC until a leak revealed their revenue for 2020 was at US$91 billion and net income of US$39.4 billion!
Sure, the data was in 2020 but considering their 20.1% dominance of the world’s container market share, this number aren’t far off today.
MSC’s 867 container vessels move 6,190,492 containers in the global arena, assisted by 524 offices in 155 countries.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) was the dark horse before I edited this post but now, I can truly rank it in the spot that it deserves.
Changing Dynamics
Rankings here could change anytime as the numbers are dynamic. A company’s share price changes every time it is publicly traded.
Hence, this too affects their market cap which in turn has a huge impact on the enterprise value. Their revenue may also change after their quarterly report.
Anyway, a company’s size, no matter how big, is not directly proportional to a seaman’s salary. There are small companies giving hefty salaries and bonuses to their crew.
But as per observation, the largest shipping companies have one of the best benefits offered to their mariners.
Working for the biggest also brings prestige and honor. It feels good when the company we are sailing with makes positive headlines.
Are you working with the top ten largest shipping companies in the world right now? Tell us about your experience.
May the winds be in your favor.
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