With the recently increased order book, the French liner gains a position but remains far from the top (MSC). Yang Ming exits the top ten
MA CGM, the year’s most aggressive acquirer of ships to date, has made history.
With a leader now uncatchable like MSC, the global ranking of container companies is livening up in second position, where as of this week,the French Marseille-headquartered CMA CGM has just overtaken the Danish Maersk
The latest data from Alphaliner
According to the latest data from Alphaliner, in fact, if you include ships on order, the Marseille-based liner’s fleet has reached 5.42 million slots, about 140,000 TEUs more than its Danish rival. MSC remains by far in the lead, however: its fleet, including the order book, now stands at 8.47 million slots, larger than the existing fleets of CMA CGM and Maersk combined.
Largest player on the second-hand market
In addition to being the largest player on the second-hand market in the first months of 2025, CMA CGM has also been active in the newbuilding sector, with a large order for 12 18,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG vessels just placed at CSSC Jiangnan Shipyard, shortly after the $2.6 billion contract signed for another twelve 18,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG newbuildings at the Korean shipyard HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
CMA CGM can trace its origins back to 1978 when Jacques Saadé founded Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement (CMA) as an intra-Mediterranean operator. In 1996, Saadé merged CMA with Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) to create what was then the 12th largest liner in the world. Saadé, who was born in Beirut in 1937, then went on to buy many famous shipping brands including Australian National Line (ANL), American President Lines (APL), and Cheng Lie Navigation. His son, Rodolphe, took over the business following Saadé’s death in 2018, adding many logistics acquisitions alongside the ship purchases.
Maersk, meanwhile, has been content to focus on operating a fleet within the 4m to 4.4m teu range, a policy originally conceived by former CEO Soren Skou, and carried on by his successor Vincent Clerc. This strategy saw MSC overhaul Maersk as the world’s largest carrier at the start of 2021.
There are other notable ranking shifts taking place lower down the Alphaliner liner charts too. When including ships on order, Taiwan’s Evergreen has just overtaken Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE) into sixth spot while Wan Hai, also from Taiwan, enters the top 10 at the expense of compatriot Yang Ming.
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