Dustin Braden, Shipper Relationship Manager | Apr 09, 2018 7:00AM EDT

The Top 5 container lines serving the United States slightly increased their combined share of imports in 2017, but dominance of their exports receded.
The 1 percentage point decline to 55.2 percent in export share among the Top 5 export carriers in 2017 — Maersk Group (Maersk Line, Hamburg Süd, and SeaLand), Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM/APL, Hapag-Lloyd, and Evergreen Line — is the first drop since 2012 and takes place after years of steady industry consolidation.
The Top 5 import carriers, comprised of the same five carriers, increased their share 0.2 percentage points last year to 54 percent, continuing the gains they have made each year since 2014, according to PIERS, a sister product of JOC.com.
The decline in US export market share of the Top 5 carriers was driven largely by double-digit growth among carriers outside the Top 5, most notably the 26.1 percent increase in exports for Hyundai Merchant Marine to 476,149 TEU as it grabbed cargo formerly moved by Hanjin Shipping, and the 21.5 percent increase to 593,190 TEU at Cosco Shipping.
Cosco, which is merging with OOCL, would have been the No. 4 US export carrier in 2017, with a market share of 9.7 percent and combined volume of 1.2 million TEU based on the current rankings. The three Japanese carriers — NYK Line, MOL, and “K” Line — began sailing under the Ocean Network Express (ONE) on April 1; under the current rankings, ONE also would have also been the No. 4 carrier in 2017 with a share of 11.9 percent and total volume of 1.5 million TEU.
Other carriers that showed strong export growth in 2017 were MOL, up 11.9 percent to 481,083 TEU; Yang Ming, up 10.4 percent to 461,530 TEU; and ACL/Grimaldi Group, up 21.4 percent to 86,583 TEU.
Maersk Group’s 5 percent decline in export traffic to 1.8 million TEU and Hapag-Lloyd’s 4.6 percent drop to 1 million TEU also contributed to the Top 5 export carriers losing combined market share. The declines helped pull down export growth of the Top 5 so that it matched overall US export growth of 1.2 percent.
CMA CGM/APL was the fastest-growing of the Top 5 export carriers in 2017, with traffic up 8.3 percent to 1.6 million TEU, followed by MSC’s 4.9 percent increase to 1.6 million TEU, and Evergreen’s 3.8 percent gain to 817,364 TEU.
Import growth as a whole and among the Top 5 was much stronger, with combined volume of the Top 5 carriers expanding 6.2 percent, edging out the 5.9 percent growth in total US imports in 2017.
Under the current rankings, a merged Cosco and OOCL would have been tied with CMA CGM/APL for the No. 1 US import carrier in 2017 with a share of 13 percent. Cosco/OOCL volume would have totaled 2.4 million TEU. Japan’s Big Three, if the merger into ONE had closed last year, would have had an import market share of 12.8 percent, as their combined volume of 2.9 million TEU would have made them the No. 2 import carrier.
Volume at all of the Top 5 import carriers rose in 2017, with MSC’s 12.6 percent expansion to 2.8 million TEU leading the pack. CMA CGM/APL followed with a 9.3 percent increase to 3 million TEU, while Evergreen traffic rose 3.7 percent to 1.8 million TEU. Maersk Group import volume rose 2.9 percent to 2.8 million TEU, while Hapag-Lloyd imports inched up 0.8 percent to 1.9 million TEU.
US import growth was so strong last year that many of the top carriers recorded double-digit volume increases from bases in excess of 700,000 TEU. OOCL import traffic rose 25.8 percent to 1.2 million TEU, while HMM’s volume rose 19.9 percent to 940,506 TEU, and imports at MOL rose 18.6 percent to 911,318 TEU.
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January-December US EXPORTS | Percent Volume Change in JanUARY-December 2017 | |||||||||||||
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OCEAN CARRIER* | Website | World, US Headquarters | 2017 Market Share | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | FROM 2013 | FROM 2014 | FROM 2015 | FROM 2016 | ||
1 | Maersk Group | www.maerskline.com | Copenhagen; Florham Park, NJ | 14.5% | 1,725,937 | 1,764,984 | 1,592,442 | 1,912,168 | 1,816,883 | 5.3% | 2.9% | 14.1% | -5.0% | |
2 | MSC | www.mscgva.ch | Geneva; New York | 13.1% | 1,562,539 | 1,559,124 | 1,521,075 | 1,568,412 | 1,644,534 | 5.2% | 5.5% | 8.1% | 4.9% | |
3 | CMA CGM/APL | www.cma-cgm.com; www.apl.com | Marseille; Norfolk, Va. Singapore; Scottsdale, Ariz. | 12.4% | 1,571,426 | 1,437,021 | 1,455,375 | 1,438,800 | 1,558,250 | -0.8% | 8.4% | 7.1% | 8.3% | |
4 | Hapag-Lloyd | www.hapag-lloyd.com | Hamburg; Piscataway, NJ | 8.0% | 1,078,130 | 1,128,473 | 1,032,259 | 1,053,656 | 1,005,074 | -6.8% | -10.9% | -2.6% | -4.6% | |
5 | Evergreen Line | www.evergreen-line.com | Taipei; Jersey City, NJ | 6.5% | 790,120 | 763,905 | 754,377 | 787,393 | 817,364 | 3.4% | 7.0% | 8.3% | 3.8% | |
JOC Top 5 US Export Carriers | 54.5% | 52.6% | 52.0% | 50.9% | 56.2% | 55.2% | ||||||||
JOC Top 5 US Export Carriers' Market Share | 6,728,152 | 6,653,506 | 6,355,528 | 6,760,429 | 6,842,105 | 1.7% | 2.8% | 7.7% | 1.2% | |||||
6 | OOCL *1 | www.oocl.com | Hong Kong; Salt Lake City | 5.0% | 538,285 | 530,534 | 527,816 | 616,788 | 623,110 | 15.8% | 17.4% | 18.1% | 1.0% | |
7 | NYK Line *2 | www.nykline.com | Tokyo; Secaucus, NJ | 4.8% | 454,088 | 522,760 | 580,678 | 560,679 | 600,740 | 32.3% | 14.9% | 3.5% | 7.1% | |
8 | Cosco *1 | en.coscoshipping.com | Shanghai; Secaucus, NJ | 4.7% | 697,466 | 646,181 | 499,568 | 488,189 | 593,190 | -15.0% | -8.2% | 18.7% | 21.5% | |
9 | MOL *2 | www.molpower.com | Tokyo; Lombard, Ill. | 3.8% | 370,674 | 389,403 | 378,263 | 429,881 | 481,083 | 29.8% | 23.5% | 27.2% | 11.9% | |
10 | Hyundai Merchant Marine | www.hmm21.com | Seoul; Irving, Texas | 3.8% | 515,044 | 439,741 | 378,138 | 377,564 | 476,149 | -7.6% | 8.3% | 25.9% | 26.1% | |
11 | Yang Ming Line | www.yangming.com.tw | Keelung; Newark, NJ | 3.7% | 414,631 | 407,827 | 372,216 | 418,133 | 461,530 | 11.3% | 13.2% | 24.0% | 10.4% | |
12 | "K" Line *2 | www.kline.com | Tokyo; Richmond, Va. | 3.3% | 406,307 | 406,526 | 407,265 | 431,056 | 410,082 | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.7% | -4.9% | |
13 | Seaboard Marine | www.seaboardmarine.com | Miami | 2.7% | 301,245 | 299,893 | 320,150 | 321,845 | 344,372 | 14.3% | 14.8% | 7.6% | 7.0% | |
14 | Crowley | www.crowley.com | Jacksonville, Fla. | 2.7% | 353,352 | 347,890 | 385,103 | 344,596 | 337,618 | -4.5% | -3.0% | -12.3% | -2.0% | |
15 | Zim Integrated Shipping Services | www.zim.com | Haifa; Norfolk, Va. | 2.0% | 246,770 | 222,972 | 253,769 | 261,032 | 252,629 | 2.4% | 13.3% | -0.4% | -3.2% | |
16 | TOTE Maritime | www.totemaritime.com | Jacksonville, Fla. | 1.5% | 108,784 | 110,515 | 153,868 | 174,342 | 187,336 | 72.2% | 69.5% | 21.8% | 7.5% | |
17 | Tropical Shipping | www.tropical.com | Riviera Beach, Fla. | 1.1% | 119,631 | 122,371 | 130,735 | 127,701 | 133,624 | 11.7% | 9.2% | 2.2% | 4.6% | |
18 | King Ocean Services | www.kingocean.com | Doral, Fla. | 0.7% | 79,829 | 85,394 | 86,954 | 88,293 | 88,705 | 11.1% | 3.9% | 2.0% | 0.5% | |
19 | ACL/Grimaldi Group | www.aclcargo.com www.grimaldi.napoli.it | Naples; Westfield, NJ | 0.7% | 78,758 | 72,964 | 72,663 | 71,314 | 86,583 | 9.9% | 18.7% | 19.2% | 21.4% | |
20 | Great White Fleet | www.greatwhitefleet.com | Antwerp; Cincinnati | 0.6% | 79,515 | 82,443 | 84,621 | 81,664 | 79,168 | -0.4% | -4.0% | -6.4% | -3.1% | |
21 | Trailer Bridge | www.trailerbridge.com | Jacksonville, Fla. | 0.6% | 65,306 | 54,743 | 71,595 | 64,555 | 69,306 | 6.1% | 26.6% | -3.2% | 7.4% | |
22 | Dole | www.doleoceancargo.com | Jacksonville, Fla. | 0.5% | 51,925 | 49,121 | 60,559 | 53,818 | 62,034 | 19.5% | 26.3% | 2.4% | 15.3% | |
23 | Independent Container Line | www.icl-ltd.com | Antwerp; Richmond, Va. | 0.5% | 59,818 | 61,894 | 62,147 | 61,947 | 61,684 | 3.1% | -0.3% | -0.7% | -0.4% | |
24 | Matson | www.matson.com | Oakland | 0.4% | 56,863 | 54,342 | 54,106 | 56,702 | 51,208 | -9.9% | -5.8% | -5.4% | -9.7% | |
25 | SM Line | www.smlines.com | Seoul | 0.4% | 47,136 | |||||||||
26 | Pacific International Line | www.pilship.com | Singapore, Long Beach, Ca. | 0.3% | 50,695 | 49,786 | 42,542 | 57,483 | 37,867 | -25.3% | -23.9% | -11.0% | -34.1% | |
27 | Turkon Line | www.turkonamerica.com | Istanbul; Secaucus, NJ | 0.3% | 40,787 | 36,814 | 31,407 | 30,816 | 31,675 | -22.3% | -14.0% | 0.9% | 2.8% | |
28 | Antillean Lines | www.antillean.com | Miami | 0.2% | 22,938 | 21,181 | 21,133 | 22,965 | 24,644 | 7.4% | 16.4% | 16.6% | 7.3% | |
29 | Wan Hai Lines | www.wanhaiusa.com | Taipei; Phoenix, Ariz. | 0.2% | 23,103 | 16,793 | 16,250 | 28,605 | 24,403 | 5.6% | 45.3% | 50.2% | -14.7% | |
30 | Hybur Shipping | www.hydeshipping.com | Cayman Islands; Port Everglades | 0.2% | 16,421 | 14,467 | 21,092 | 22,110 | 21,394 | 30.3% | 47.9% | 1.4% | -3.2% | |
31 | Seacor | www.seacorislandlines.com | Fort Lauderdale | 0.2% | 99 | 72 | 10,543 | 20,290 | 20330.7% | 28202.1% | 92.4% | |||
32 | Westwood Shipping | www.wsl.com | Puyallup, Wash. | 0.2% | 19,237 | 18,656 | 18,950 | 18,751 | 19,950 | 3.7% | 6.9% | 5.3% | 6.4% | |
33 | Linea Peninsular | www.lineaships.com | Panama City, Fla. | 0.1% | 19,302 | 12,835 | 15,267 | 11,815 | 11,176 | -42.1% | -12.9% | -26.8% | -5.4% | |
34 | Network Shipping | www.freshdelmonte.com | Coral Gables, Fla. | 0.1% | 14,505 | 10,880 | 11,776 | 11,746 | 8,907 | -38.6% | -18.1% | -24.4% | -24.2% | |
35 | Bermuda Container Line | www.neptunebermuda.com | Hamilton, Bermuda; Newark, NJ | 0.1% | 7,167 | 7,011 | 7,252 | 7,418 | 8,300 | 15.8% | 18.4% | 14.4% | 11.9% | |
36 | Swire Shipping | www.swireshipping.com | Singapore; Vancouver, BC | 0.1% | 6,733 | 6,981 | 9,809 | 10,220 | 7,018 | 4.2% | 0.5% | -28.5% | -31.3% | |
37 | United Abaco Shipping | www.unitedabacoshipping.com | Bahamas | 0.0% | 1,160 | 923 | 1,218 | 3,203 | 5,369 | 362.9% | 481.8% | 340.9% | 67.6% | |
38 | Somers Isles Shipping | www.somers-isles-shipping.com | Fernandina Beach, Fla. | 0.0% | 3,445 | 3,155 | 3,421 | 3,832 | 3,973 | 15.3% | 25.9% | 16.1% | 3.7% | |
39 | Schuyler Line Navigation | www.schuylerline.com | Annapolis, Md. | 0.0% | 613 | 154 | 951 | 3,692 | 3,198 | 421.3% | 1979.9% | 236.3% | -13.4% | |
40 | Intermarine | www.intermarine.com | Houston, Tx. | 0.0% | 12,740 | 10,496 | 8,286 | 4,026 | 2,979 | -76.6% | -71.6% | -64.1% | -26.0% | |
TOTAL JOC TOP 40 US EXPORT CARRIERS | 99.8% | 11,965,291 | 11,771,251 | 11,445,169 | 12,037,752 | 12,520,533 | 4.6% | 6.4% | 9.4% | 4.0% | ||||
TOTAL ALL US EXPORT CARRIERS | 100.0% | 12,784,055 | 12,497,737 | 12,031,021 | 12,396,242 | 12,549,608 | -1.8% | 0.4% | 4.3% | 1.2% | ||||
MARKET SHARE OF ALL JOC TOP 40 US EXPORT CARRIERS | 93.6% | 94.2% | 95.1% | 97.1% | 99.8% | |||||||||
1* Cosco Shipping parent company China Cosco Shipping Group is acquiring OOCL. 2* NYK Line, MOL, and "K" Line will complete merger into ONE on April 1, 2018. |
Comments
The two data lists say "US
The two data lists say "US Imports". I assume the top one is Imports while the second is Exports?
How do you rank Independent
How do you rank Independent Container Line? and affiliates?