Top 25 carriers make up half of global capacity

Top 100 carriers account for just over 91 per cent of a total of 5.2m TEUs

[SINGAPORE] A survey of the top 100 container shipping lines shows that while the combined capacity of the global fleet has risen 8.5 per cent in the last 12 months to 5.2 million TEUs (20-ft equivalent units), the top 25 carriers account for nearly half this capacity.

In its annual survey, shipping specialist Alphaliner -- a division of BRS Shipbrokers Group -- ranked the top 100 liner operators based on total capacity for the year ending Jan 1, 2001.

Of the total 4,450 vessels -- amounting to some 5.75 million TEUs -- deployed on liner trades, 48 per cent of this capacity is contributed by the top 25 carriers while the top 100 carriers make up just over 91 per cent of this total capacity. The next 100 carriers only make up 4.7 per cent of this figure.

Taking top position in the survey, AP Moller subsidiaries Maersk Sealand and Safmarine also posted nearly a 12 per cent gain in capacity or 74,000 TEUs -- a figure which the survey notes is roughly equivalent to the fleet of a medium-sized carrier -- during the last year.

The Danish company currently has 31 ships totalling some 130,902 TEUs on the order books.

Number 2 position goes to P&O Nedlloyd, which sailed past Evergreen Group with a 22.4 per cent capacity boost to reach 343,000 TEUs. Most of this was internal through 13 newbuildings while the rest was through acquisitions. Some 21 vessels totalling 84,032 TEUs are still on the order books.

Evergreen Group's fleet remained at around 325,000 TEUs, up slightly by 2.4 per cent over last year putting it in third position. The Taiwanese liner reshuffled significant portions of its tonnage as it developed its Italian subsidiary Lloyd Triestino, which now operates 20 ships for 77,000 TEUs. Neptune Orient Lines' APL posted 8 per cent growth to 224,000 TEUs. APL has some 69,000 TEUs in the form of 16 ships on order.

The three large Korean operators remained fairly static with Hanjin-Senator up 5.5 per cent to 258,023 TEUs while Hyundai Merchant Marine dropped three slots to 18th despite a 3.7 per cent fleet growth and Cho Yang Line held on to 25th spot despite an 8 per cent capacity reduction.

Regional carrier PIL posted a healthy 21 per cent growth in capacity reaching the 73,000 TEU mark putting it in 24th position. The new tonnage was added for its new services to China and a service linking Singapore to South and West Africa.

Thai-based Regional Container Line (RCL) also experienced a surge in capacity, up some 25 per cent to 33,000 TEUs putting it in 31st position, which according to the survey, is due to its launching of its Singapore-China services. RCL still has 4 ships on order for 3,138 TEUs.

Indonesian feeder line Samudera came in at 40th position with 28 vessels amounting to 21,346 TEUs.