Deep Sea Freight Transportation Industry Profile

Companies in this industry provide deep sea transportation of cargo to or from foreign ports. Major companies include CMA CGM (France), COSCO (China), Crowley (US), Evergreen (Taiwan), Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), Mærsk (Denmark), and MSC Mediterranean Shipping (Switzerland).

Because of the nature of the deep sea shipping business, activity in the industry is spread throughout the world. The port of Shanghai was the largest container port in 2023, with a capacity of more than 49 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), according to Statista. The busiest container ports also include Singapore, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shenzhen, and Qingdao, among others.

The US deep sea shipping industry includes nearly 270 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of around $6 billion. US coastal and Great Lakes shipping, which includes deep sea shipping between US ports, is covered in a separate industry profile, as are cruise ship operations.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by global imports and exports. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and a good safety record. Large companies have advantages in fleet size and port access. Small companies can compete effectively by chartering services out of smaller ports and transporting unusual cargo. The US industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for more than 95% of industry revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major services include transportation of intermodal containers and dry bulk cargo (each accounting for about 30% of revenue), followed by the ...