Top 10 Shipping Companies in the World in 2020

The top 10 shipping companies in the world 2020 are at the top of their game in one of the oldest industries in the world. The shipping industry is probably the most important industry in the world; if it were to collapse one day, we would struggle to even get the most basic of necessities as around 90% of the world’s cargo is transported through ship!

The largest ship in the world can store an astounding 18,000 containers, or equivalent to 745 million bananas. While the engines of the biggest ships are hundreds of times more powerful than an average, they can’t travel very fast, with a maximum speed of around 23 knots, which is the equivalent of around 23.5 miles per hour, which is why you have to wait 2 weeks for your delivery in most cases. And these ships don’t really get much of a break in between transport; it is estimated that annually, a ship travels 75% of the distance to the moon.

Working in a shipping company is not an easy job, especially if you are actually on one of the transport ships. Even in this day and age, only 10% of the ships have access to the Internet, a sobering thought for many, while 33% of the ship crews have zero means of communicating with the outside world when they’re on a ship. There are some sexist issues still pervading the industry as well, with only 2% of the seafarers being female.

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The future of the shipping industry may be at stake right now, with a major fall in demand and fall in freight rates threatening the progression of the industry. Despite these setbacks, the top 10 shipping companies in the world in 2020 have been innovative and responded to these issues, which is why they are currently at the top. To decide the biggest shipping companies in the world, we consulted Alphaliner to rank each company according to their TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), a unit used to describe the capacity of a ship. If you want to compare this to older lists, you should head on over to top 15 largest shipping companies in the world. So let’s begin our list with number 10:

10. Hyundai M.M.

TEU: 379,461

The number one shipping company in South Korea, and moves a large portion of the exports of the country, but despite the volumes of the company improving significantly, it still recently suffered a $1 billion loss.

9. PIL (Pacific International Line)

TEU: 393,498

Founded in 1967 with only two ships, Pacific International Lines is one of the biggest shipping companies in Singapore, with around 18,000 employees currently.

8. Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.

TEU: 648,383

Based in Taiwan, the company was founded in 1972, and now owns over a hundred container ships in addition to several bulk vessels as well. The company now has over 170 service points and provides services in over 70 countries.

7. Evergreen Line

TEU: 1,275,786

Another Taiwanese company makes the list of top 10 shipping companies in the world is Evergreen line, with nearly twice the TEU of Yang Marine. It provides services to 80 countries with over 240 ports globally and over 150 ships in its fleet.

6. ONE (Ocean Network Express)

TEU: 1,582,396

Ocean Network Express is the most recently found company on this list, having been established in only 2017. Based in Japan, the company now has over 14,000 employees and has offices in over 90 countries now.

5. Hapag-Lloyd

TEU: 1,706,243

One of the most famous shipping companies out there, this German company was formed in 1970 due to the merger of two other German companies, which were formed in the mid-1800s. Since its inception, Hapag-Loyd has either merged with or been sold to many corporations, resulting in the behemoth we see today.

4. CMA CGM Group

TEU: 2,679,748

The French company has 200 shipping routes, providing services in 420 ports in 150 different countries, and has a revenue of over $16 billion.

3. COSCO Group

TEU: 2,931,778

This shipping behemoth is one of China’s biggest brands in the world, regardless of industry, boasting over a thousand ports and over one thousand ships.

2. Mediterranean Shipping Company

TEU: 3,757,368

This Swiss-Italian company operates in all the major ports in the world, with a significant presence in each of them. Fun fact about the company, it has an entire division dedicated to providing cruise services for holiday seekers.

1. APM-Maersk

Topping the list of top 10 shipping companies in the world 2019, is APM-Maersk, a Danish company with a revenue of $39 billion, far surpassing its competitors. It has offices in 130 countries and its total number of employees cross 80,000. In fact, it has been the largest shipping company in the world since 1996!