Container Shipping - Statistics & Facts

In terms of value, global seaborne container trade is believed to account for approximately 60 percent of all world seaborne trade, which was valued at around 12 trillion U.S. dollars in 2017. While the quantity of goods carried by containers has risen from around 102 million metric tons in 1980 to about 1.83 billion metric tons in 2017, vessels have likewise increased their capacity. Between 1980 and 2018, the deadweight tonnage of container ships has grown from about 11 million metric tons to around 253 million metric tons. As of July 2016, the global cellular container ship fleet had the capacity to carry some 20 million standard containers. With a total capacity of around four million TEUs*, Danish shipping line APM-Maersk is currently the largest container-shipping company globally, followed by MSC, COSCO, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd. Germany's Hapag-Lloyd went public in 2015, despite the industry facing challenges such as low freight rates; South Korea's Hanjin was forced into bankruptcy in 2016 and Maersk acquired Germany's Hamburg Süd in 2017.

In 2017, the five leading container-handling ports worldwide were Asia-based. The port of Shanghai was the busiest container port in the world, handling about 40.2 million TEUs of containerized cargo. In its 2017 fiscal year, the Port of Los Angeles handled some 9.2 million TEUs, making it the largest container port in the United States.

* The abbreviation TEU stands for twenty-foot equivalent unit, a standard unit of measure in the shipping industry.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
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Projected container market CAGR between 2016 and 2019

4.7%

Capacity of container ships in seaborne trade

253m dwt
Overview of container trade
Projected container market CAGR between 2016 and 2019 4.7% International seaborne trade carried by containers 1,834mt loaded Quantity of loaded freight in international maritime trade 10,702 mt loaded Number of container ships in the world merchant fleet 5k Most frequented maritime trade routes Trans-Pacific

Top 100 Companies: Transportation & Warehousing

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Global container fleet
Capacity of container ships in seaborne trade 253m dwt Gross tonnage of Germany’s container ship fleet 62m Largest container ship operator based on orderbook TEUs Evergreen Line Maersk is the leading container ship operator globally 4m TEUs 2017 Maersk revenue 39bn USD Number of ships owned by Maersk 316 COSCO's FY 2016 EBIT margin 8.7% Number of chartered ships in Hapag-Lloyd's fleet 119 Number of ships in Evergreen Line's order book 71 Container ship fleet's TEU capacity in 2020 21.7 Number of TEUs in the existing container ship fleet 20.3m
Ports
Largest container port worldwide in 2017 Shanghai Port of Shanghai’s container throughput 40.2m TEUs Container traffic handled at the Port of Los Angeles 9.17m TEUs

Container shipping - Important statistics

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The whole topic in one document

Container shipping
  • Edited and prepared
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  • Instant access
  • From $365
View dossier
Overview of container trade
Projected container market CAGR between 2016 and 2019 4.7% International seaborne trade carried by containers 1,834mt loaded Quantity of loaded freight in international maritime trade 10,702 mt loaded Number of container ships in the world merchant fleet 5k Most frequented maritime trade routes Trans-Pacific

Top 100 Companies: Transportation & Warehousing

Statista Toplist 2018
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  • Includes contact details and key figures
  • available to download in Excel format for a seamless workflow
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Top 500 Companies: Logistics

Statista Toplist 2018
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Transportation: Water in the U.S. 2018

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Global container fleet
Capacity of container ships in seaborne trade 253m dwt Gross tonnage of Germany’s container ship fleet 62m Largest container ship operator based on orderbook TEUs Evergreen Line Maersk is the leading container ship operator globally 4m TEUs 2017 Maersk revenue 39bn USD Number of ships owned by Maersk 316 COSCO's FY 2016 EBIT margin 8.7% Number of chartered ships in Hapag-Lloyd's fleet 119 Number of ships in Evergreen Line's order book 71 Container ship fleet's TEU capacity in 2020 21.7 Number of TEUs in the existing container ship fleet 20.3m
Ports
Largest container port worldwide in 2017 Shanghai Port of Shanghai’s container throughput 40.2m TEUs Container traffic handled at the Port of Los Angeles 9.17m TEUs

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Leading container ship operators - chartered TEUs in 2019
Container ship operators based on TEU capacity of ships in order book 2019
Number of TEUs - global containership fleet 2017
Global container market - growth in demand 2008-2019

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container shipping companies worldwide by number of shipsChina Has the Worlds Busiest Container Ports

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Container Shipping Infographic - Global Warming Opens Arctic Passage For Container Ships
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