The global container shipping fleet has grown from 4.5 million TEU in 2000 to 33.6 million TEU in 2025, reports the Paris-based Alphaliner consultancy.

Consolidation in the 2010s concentrated 84 per cent of ship capacity in the hands of the top 10 carriers, up from 61 per cent at the start of the millennium, it said.

The number of ships rose from 2,622 to 7,492 over the past quarter century, while average vessel size increased from about 1,700 TEU to 4,500 TEU.

The current newbuilding pipeline stands at close to 11 million TEU, more than twice the size of the world fleet in 2000.

Alphaliner data shows the fleet grew almost linearly from 2003 to 2023, adding about one million TEU annually. In the past two years, growth accelerated to more than two million TEU per year.

https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9251200001297