CMA CGM Set To Take Over As 2nd Largest Carrier

According to reports in The Loadstar, CMA CGM has a massive order book for vessels and could be set to take over from Maersk Line as the world's second biggest carrier.

The French owned steamship line is understood to have 122 container ships on order with a capacity of 1.24 million teu's . Currently they have an operating fleet of 625 vessels with a capacity of 3.5m teu compared to Maersk’s capacity of 4.1m teu. However, the Danish carrier only have 33 ships on order with a capacity of 0.4m teu.

Maersk were considered the largest carrier just 3 to 4 years back, but has maintained vows not to grow its fleet. Subsequently, it now trails MSC by almost one million teu's and is in danger of falling to third spot by the time it splits from the 2M Alliance in 2025.

The Ocean Alliance is set to increase its capacity by huge levels over the next couple of years. As well as CMA CGM, alliance partners Cosco and Evergreen have large order books and expect to introduce 0.92m teu and 0.84m teu respectively.

Carriers must be forecasting improved global economic conditions, as based on current demand it is difficult to see why so much capacity is needed.

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