Maersk dethroned by MSC as world’s largest shipper
Swiss container giant MSC has steamed past Danish rival Maersk as the world’s largest shipper, after holding the title for several decades.
MSC’s shipping capacity, the equivalent of 4,284m 20ft containers, inched past Maersk’s 4,282m.
Maersk CEO Soren Skou said in May that, while he wanted to be boss of the “world’s largest” shipping company, the logistics giant’s goal is not to be “number one”.
“I would like to be CEO of the world’s largest shipping and logistics company, and I believe I have a good chance of holding on to that for some time to come,” Skou said last year.
“Our goal isn’t to be number one. Our goal is to do a good job for our customers, delivering strong returns and not least be a decent company for all other stakeholders doing business with Maersk.”
It comes just weeks after the Copenhagen-based shipper agreed to buy Hong-Kong’s LF Logistics in a $3.6bn all-cash deal.
The deal, one of the biggest ever made in Maersk’s history, was intended to help the company expand its reach and capabilities in the Asia Pacific region.
“With the acquisition of LF Logistics, we add critical capabilities in Asia Pacific to support our customers long term growth as well as capabilities and technology we can scale in our contract logistics business globally,” Skou said at the time.
The snagging of the top spot for MSC follows investment into newer, larger vessels, the company told Reuters, “to meet the acceleration of global trade and specific client demand for our services”.
CMA CGM and Cosco trail behind as the third and fourth largest shipping firms on the planet, owning around 12.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent of the market share respectively.