Maersk’s position as the world’s second largest shipping company may be threatened by CMA CGM, a French competitor which analysts said is on course to displacing the Danish owned company.
With its aggressive newbuilding orders and second-hand vessel purchases, CMA CGM’s current fleet now stands at 625 ships of 3.49 million TEUs while it has 122 ships of 1.24 million TEUs on order, said the Alphaliner’s report.
Comparing these numbers with Maersk Line’s fleet, which stands at 4.14 million TEUs, and just 32 ships of 400,000 TEUs under construction, is a pointer that the Danish carrier may suffer yet another displacement after the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) pushed it down the rank in early 2022.
Alphaliner had reported that if Maersk fail to acquire more vessels by 2026, it will have just 4.54 million TEUs when all its new ships are ready, while CMA CGM would surpass Maersk Line with 4.73 million TEUs.
“As per mid-July, the French Line’s orderbook stands at 35.5% of the carrier’s existing fleet capacity. Unlike MSC, which accelerated its fleet expansion through newbuilding and by means of an absolutely massive second-hand buying programme, CMA CGM has taken a somewhat different approach and it also procured numerous mid-sized vessels through a tidal wave of charters. This includes both ships from the spot market and new tonnage that will join the carrier upon delivery,” Alphaliner remarked.
Like MSC, CMA CGM began active purchases of pre-owned ships when freight rates began ascending to historical highs in 2020. The French line has purchased 427,000 TEUs of ships of all sizes. CMA CGM has also committed to 170 vessel charters since the start of 2023 and has been the most aggressive charterer among liner operators.
In a weakening market, CMA CGM might very well let go of older, less efficient ships in 2024, when charters expire. The company is scheduled to receive about 500,000 TEUs of newbuildings from now until the end of 2024.
In 2025, fleet additions will be relatively low at just 200,000 TEUs, before doubling to 400,000 TEUs in 2026. Assuming that half of CMA CGM’s orderbook is for growth and half of it will be for fleet replacement, the carrier’s fleet would stabilise at 4.2 million TEUs in late 2026.
The same assumptions would still put Maersk slightly ahead at 4.34 million TEUs, but the Danish line has repeatedly stated that it does not plan to grow its fleet beyond its current 4.14 million TEUs. Maersk Line has emphasised that its newbuildings aim to replace conventionally-fuelled tonnage with more modern, eco-friendly vessels powered by green methanol.
CMA CGM is owned by the French-Lebanese Saadé family and is based in the port city of Marseille. Rodolphe Saadé is the CEO. The company was founded by his father, billionaire Jacques Saadé.
