JUPITER SEA & AIR SERVICES PVT. LTD, EGMORE – CHENNAI, INDIA.

 

E-MAIL : Robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in   Mobile : +91 98407 85202

 

 

Corporate News Letter for Sunday  August  02,  2026

Today’s Exchange Rates

CURRENCY▲	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE	OPEN	PREV.CLOSE
USD/INR	95.39	0.300003	0.313516	95.38	95.69
EUR/USD	1.1508	0.002	0.173488	1.1528	1.1528
GBP/INR	128.3032	0.290009	0.226546	128.2897	128.0132
EUR/INR	109.7534	0.066803	0.060904	109.8045	109.6866
USD/JPY	159.217	0.313004	0.196204	159.54	159.53
GBP/USD	1.3466	0.00	0.00	1.3466	1.3466
JPY/INR	0.5962	-0.0034	-0.567049	0.60	0.5996

///                   Sea Cargo News            ///

MSC widens lead over Maersk as global carrier rankings shift

MSC strengthened its position as the world’s largest container shipping company in 2025, widening the gap over rival Maersk through another year of aggressive fleet expansion that outpaced every other major carrier.

According to the DynaLiners Trades Review 2026, MSC ended the year operating 971 containerships with a total fleet capacity of 7.136 million TEU, having added approximately 832,000 TEU and 92 vessels during the year. The Swiss carrier also became the first liner operator to surpass 900 ships and later crossed the 7 million TEU fleet milestone following the delivery of MSC Salerno.

The scale of MSC’s expansion is particularly striking. The carrier’s additional capacity alone would have been large enough to rank as approximately the world’s ninth-largest container shipping company, illustrating the unprecedented pace at which it continues to grow.

The gap with Maersk continues to widen

MSC’s leadership is no longer simply a matter of holding first place.

At the end of 2025, MSC’s operated fleet stood at 7.136 million TEU, compared with 4.612 million TEU for second-ranked Maersk, a difference of more than 2.5 million TEU. While MSC expanded fleet capacity by 13.2% during the year, Maersk recorded growth of 4.5%, highlighting the increasingly different pace at which the two companies are expanding.

The widening gap reflects MSC’s continued strategy of combining large-scale newbuilding deliveries with an active second-hand acquisition programme, enabling the carrier to increase capacity far more rapidly than its closest competitors.

Competition remains strong behind the market leader

Although MSC continues to pull away, the rest of the top tier also expanded during 2025.

Maersk retained second place with 4.612 million TEU, followed by CMA CGM at 4.138 million TEU and COSCO Shipping with 3.587 million TEU. All four carriers recorded fleet growth during the year, reinforcing their dominant position within the global liner market.

Further down the ranking, Hapag-Lloyd increased its fleet capacity to 2.390 million TEU, while Ocean Network Express (ONE) reached 2.078 million TEU. Evergreen continued to expand beyond 1.95 million TEU, strengthening its position among the world’s largest carriers.

HMM posts one of the fastest expansion rates

Among the leading carriers, HMM delivered one of the year’s strongest growth performances.

The South Korean carrier expanded its fleet by 27 vessels and approximately 243,000 TEU, becoming the eighth container shipping company to exceed 1 million TEU of fleet capacity. By year-end, HMM operated 97 ships with a total capacity of 1.027 million TEU.

The milestone underlines HMM’s steady recovery and continued investment following several years of fleet renewal and strategic expansion.

Not every carrier expanded

While most leading operators increased capacity, ZIM moved in the opposite direction.

The Israeli carrier’s fleet capacity declined by 9.6%, falling from 780,200 TEU to 705,500 TEU, making it the only major carrier among the top group to record negative fleet growth during the year.

Elsewhere, PIL recorded the fastest percentage growth among the leading operators, expanding capacity by 15.5%, while Evergreen grew by 11.4%, underlining that fleet expansion remained widespread across the industry rather than being limited to MSC alone.

Market concentration remains remarkably stable

Despite the varying growth rates among individual carriers, the overall market structure changed little.

The world’s ten largest container shipping companies controlled approximately 28.3 million TEU of fleet capacity at the end of 2025, representing 84% of global liner capacity. Including the next ten carriers raises the share to 91%, illustrating the high level of concentration that has characterised the sector for several years.

Although competition among the leading carriers remains intense, the rankings suggest that the gap between MSC and its closest competitors continues to widen while the broader balance of market concentration remains largely unchanged.

Looking ahead

The latest rankings highlight two parallel trends shaping the container shipping industry.

On one hand, the world’s largest carriers continue to invest heavily in fleet expansion despite growing concerns over future overcapacity. On the other, market leadership is becoming increasingly concentrated around a handful of global operators capable of financing large-scale fleet renewal and strategic acquisitions.

For MSC, 2025 marked another milestone in an expansion strategy that has transformed the company from the world’s second-largest carrier just a few years ago into an operator with a lead measured not in thousands, but in millions of TEU.

Whether competitors can narrow that gap in the coming years will depend not only on newbuilding programmes but also on broader market conditions, consolidation and the industry’s ability to absorb the significant capacity still scheduled for delivery.

Maersk expands contingency measures as Middle East disruption continues

Maersk has expanded its contingency measures across the Middle East as regional instability continues to disrupt shipping and logistics operations.

In its latest Middle East Operational Update 40, the carrier said it is taking additional steps to protect cargo, maintain network stability and support customers through alternative transport solutions as the situation remains highly volatile.

Landbridge network expands

Maersk said it continues to expand its multimodal landbridge solutions across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and Iraq. However, the company has temporarily paused selected landside bookings on several routes while maintaining other domestic and cross-border transport services, subject to capacity and local regulations.

Booking restrictions remain

The carrier has also maintained booking restrictions for several cargo categories, including reefer, dangerous goods and out-of-gauge cargo, on routes involving multiple Gulf countries. At the same time, Maersk continues to accept bookings on selected services, including cargo moving through ports such as Salalah, Sohar, Khor Fakkan and Jeddah under specific conditions.

Emergency Freight charges remain in force

For cargo already in transit or booked to affected destinations, Maersk continues to apply its Emergency Freightsurcharge to support alternative routing, temporary storage and additional operational measures.

The surcharge is set at US$1,800 per 20-foot dry container, US$3,000 per 40-foot dry container and US$3,800 for reefer, special and dangerous goods containers. In addition, cargo transported through the Strait of Hormuz is subject to an extra US$1,000 per container.

Alternative routing options

Maersk is offering customers three options for cargo affected by the disruption: continue the planned voyage with temporary storage, return cargo to origin or change the final destination. The company noted that each option is subject to operational feasibility and may incur additional costs depending on when the request is made.

The carrier has also revised several regional routings. Cargo destined for Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE will now be transshipped through Salalah and Khor Fakkan, before moving via landbridge and feeder services where required. Cargo booked to Jeddah for consignees outside Saudi Arabia will also be rerouted through Khor Fakkan.

Temporary empty container measures

Maersk has introduced temporary empty container return arrangements across the region. Empty containers for several Gulf destinations will no longer be accepted at their usual return locations and must instead be delivered to designated depots until further notice. The company has also updated empty pickup and drop-off procedures in selected markets.

Maersk said it will continue to monitor developments closely and adjust its operational measures as conditions evolve.

Hapag-Lloyd adds direct Oakland call to WC5 service

Hapag-Lloyd will introduce a direct call at the Port of Oakland on its WC5 service, strengthening connections between Asia and Northern California.

The revised service rotation will be:

Busan → Ningbo → Los Angeles → Oakland → Yokohama → Busan.

The updated rotation will begin with the Missouri Express on voyage 634W.

The vessel is scheduled to arrive in Oakland on 21 August 2026.

Hapag-Lloyd said the additional Oakland call will strengthen connectivity for cargo moving to and from Northern California and provide customers with greater supply chain flexibility.

///                   Air Cargo News            ///

Saudia Cargo starts Riyadh-Melbourne route

                            Image: © Saudia Cargo

Saudia Cargo has begun operating a scheduled route between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Melbourne, Australia.

The new route connecting King Khalid International and Melbourne International commenced on 25 July. One flight per week will take place on the route, the Jeddah-headquartered airline told Air Cargo News.

Flights will cater to demand in both directions for cargo including perishables, pharmaceuticals, industrial equipment, and e-commerce goods.

This route will be serviced by a Boeing 747-400 freighter with capacity of over 110 tons and nose-loading capabilities to accommodate heavy, oversized, and high-volume shipments.

The launch of the Riyadh-Melbourne route is part of Saudia Cargo’s international network expansion and follows the airline’s recent purchase agreement for four Boeing 777-200 freighters that will be delivered from the fourth quarter of this year.

Saudia Cargo’s current fleet already includes four 777Fs, according to data from Planespotters. The carrier also has four Boeing 747-400Fs, two of which are passenger to freighter conversions.

Last year, Saudia Cargo entered into a strategic agreement with ASL Aviation for the lease of two Airbus A330-300Fs.

These aircraft, both conversions, were delivered in February and April of this year, shows Planespotters’ fleet tracking information.

Last year, Saudia Cargo  transporting more than 570,000 tons of cargo across its global destination network, although its cargo volumes declined by 0.8% to 573,000 tonnes across around 4,000 flights.

According to IATA, airlines based in the Middle East region lagged overall market growth of 3.4% last year, registering an increase of 0.3%.

Changi grows Q2 air cargo volumes by nearly 10%

                   Image: © Dr David Sing/Shutterstock.com

AI-related semiconductor and electronics shipments helped Singapore Changi Airport grow its airfreight volumes by nearly 10% year on year in the second quarter.

Changi handled 567,000 tonnes of airfreight throughput in the second quarter, 9.8% higher than the same period last year.

“The strong performance was led by growth across all cargo flows, at the back of strong AI-related semiconductor and electronics shipments,” said the airport.

Changi’s top five air cargo markets for the quarter were China, Hong Kong, Australia, India and the US.

Tianjin Air Cargo became Changi’s newest freighter operator on 15 June when it commenced services between Singapore and Haikou, China.

A few months earlier, it was announced that Chinese express giant SF had selected Changi Airport to be its first overseas hub as it looked to capitalise on growth in Southeast Asia and South Asia.

The airport saw air cargo demand in 2025 increase by 4.5% year on year to 2.1m tonnes. This was due to growth across exports, imports and transhipments.

Changi is currently on a mission to grow its cargo capacity to 5.4m tonnes and partly hopes to achieve this by developing its Changi East Industrial Zone (CEIZ) for airfreight, air express and Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) activities.

The CEIZ will be operational from the mid-2030s and will support the growth of cargo volumes currently handled at the Changi Airfreight Centre, part of the current Changi West development.

Following the opening of CEIZ, the Changi Airfreight Centre will be remodelled too.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the above news letter.                                                    

Robert Sands

Joint Managing Director

Jupiter Sea & Air Services Pvt Ltd

Casa Blanca, 3rd Floor

11, Casa Major Road, Egmore

Chennai – 600 008. India.

GST Number : 33AAACJ2686E1ZS.

Tel : + 91 44 2819 0171 / 3734 / 4041

Fax : + 91 44 2819 0735

Mobile : + 91 98407 85202

E-mail : robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in

Website : www.jupiterseaair.com 1Branches  : Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Tuticorin.

Associate Offices : New Delhi, Kolkatta, Cochin & Hyderabad.

 

Thanks  to  :  Container  News,  Indian Seatrade, Cargo Forwarder Global  &  Air Cargo News.