Ocean Carriers Launch 'Aggressive Push' for Market Share

Aug 27, 2025

By Charlotte Goldstone (The Loadstar) - The race for cargo has begun between carriers as volumes dip and fleet growth hits its new record, with the alliances eyeing different tactics.

Carriers have now suffered their tenth consecutive week of freight rate declines and, according to data company Upply, traditional peak summer season cargo levels proved “disappointing” on both Asia-Europe and transpacific routes.

Further, Alphaliner reports that the global container orderbook is on the verge of hitting a record 10m teu - the element of ‘fomo’ [fear of missing out] among carriers has prompted an “aggressive push for market share”.

The orderbook-to-fleet ratio now stands at 30.4%.

“This is not a time for rest in shipping companies’ sales services,” said Jérôme de Ricqlès, liner shipping expert at Upply.

“The race for cargo is in full swing,” he added, and noted the differing strategies between carriers and alliances to keep their profits raised in the face of this “general morosity”.

“Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, via their Gemini alliance, aim to differentiate themselves by offering a higher quality of service to justify rate increases,” said Mr de Ricqlès. “This approach is having some success with major shippers receptive to the quality argument, but these are few and far between.”

MSC’s tactic has been to “hoover-up cargo” with the backing of a number of “major forwarders and faithful big shippers”.

And while the Ocean and Premier alliance carriers will aim to follow MSC’s footsteps, Mr de Ricqlès underscored that the “slight time lag” in shuffling networks when part of an alliance would have a “greater impact” on their results proportionally, in the short term.

These major carriers could also be tempted to improve their profitability by reshuffling their networks to serve shorter routes, Mr de Ricqlès predicted, “with small, well-filled ships and frequent services”.

However, he warned that they would find well established local operators like PIL or Wan Hai “blocking their path”.

“The same local operators that have often served as the traditional sub-contractors of the big shipping companies for their services and transhipments in and out of the major Asian hubs.”

India in particular could be an “attractive” market for carriers, but the uncertainty surrounding US tariff policy has placed a question mark over this.

“This is precisely the problem facing company forecasters as they try to gauge their 2025 results and prepare their 2026 budgets. Trade with the worlds leading economic power is on fast-shifting ground at the moment.

“The structural slowdown in east-west cargo volumes, coupled with the new US customs duties, does not augur well for shipping companies second-half results,” Mr de Ricqlès concluded.