In the international trade system, shipping companies (shipping companies) are an indispensable and important part. It links sellers and buyers to complete the international trade process. Shipping companies refer to shipping companies that own import and export cargo ships.
Shipping companies are the main carriers responsible for maritime cargo transportation. They provide various types of ships, including cargo ships, container ships, bulk carriers, etc., to meet the transportation needs of different goods. Shipping allows sellers to move large volumes of goods in international trade across oceans efficiently and safely.
In order to better provide customers with trade references, in this article, CSMC will focus on introducing ten shipping companies. At the same time, CSMC will use pictures and text to illustrate vividly these ten shipping companies. We hope this is helpful to our customers.

Ⅰ Maersk

A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (Danish: A.P. Møller-Mærsk Gruppen), referred to as Maersk. It is a world-renowned multinational group headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Maersk Group's business is mainly divided into four major categories, which are containers, energy, retail, and others. At the same time, it is also the world's largest container shipping operator and container ship supplier. The Maersk Group owns more than 500 container ships (56 of them are post-Panamax) and 1 million containers. It has 40 dedicated container yards around the world. In addition to container ships, the group owns a sizable fleet of bulk carriers and liquefied natural gas ships. Maersk Group has subsidiaries and offices in more than 130 countries worldwide.

Maersk

Ⅱ MSC

MSC, whose full name is Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., was established in 1970 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a global enterprise engaged in the shipping and logistics business and is committed to promoting international trade among the world's major economies and emerging markets on all continents. Mediterranean Shipping Company has 577 container ships with a total carrying capacity of 38,559,266TEU. The company has routes to major ports in the world, with the Port of Antwerp as its home port.

MSC

Ⅲ COSCO

China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is referred to as China COSCO Shipping Group or China COSCO Shipping. It is a central enterprise, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China performs investor duties on behalf of the State Council.
China COSCO Shipping's main businesses include domestic and global shipping, logistics, shipping finance, equipment manufacturing industry, shipping service industry, social industry, and Internet business. China Ocean Shipping Group operates a fleet with a comprehensive shipping capacity of 85.32 million deadweight tons/1,114 ships, ranking first in the world. Among them, the container fleet size is 1.58 million TEU, ranking fourth in the world; the self-owned dry bulk fleet has a transport capacity of 33.52 million deadweight tons/365 ships, the oil tanker fleet has a transport capacity of 17.85 million deadweight tons/120 ships, and the general cargo special fleet has a deadweight of 3 million tons, ranking first in the world.

COSCO

Ⅳ CMA CGM

CMA CGM is a French shipping and logistics company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé. It is the world's third-largest container shipping company, with a presence in 160 countries through 400 offices, 750 warehouses, 155,000 employees, and a wide fleet of 593 vessels. CMA CGM serves 420 of the world's 521 commercial ports and operates 257 shipping lines. The company is headquartered in Marseille, France.
In October 1992, the French CMA CGM Group officially entered the Chinese market - CMA CGM (China) Shipping Co., Ltd. (CMA CGM China) was established in China. Since its establishment, CMA CGM China has relied on the strong shipping strength and global service network of the French CMA CGM Group to provide fast and high-quality shipping services to Chinese customers.

CMA CGM

Ⅴ Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company, the 4th biggest in the world. It was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd.
Hapag-Lloyd is currently one of the top five shipping companies in the world and is committed to global container services. Hapag-Lloyd has more than 130 container ships. And those ships have a loading capacity of approximately 410,000 TEUs. Hapag-Lloyd has approximately 500 branches in more than 100 countries and operates in Southern Europe, Northern Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia.

Hapag-Lloyd

Ⅵ Evergreen Marine Corporation

Evergreen Group began as Evergreen Marine Corporation, founded on September 1, 1968, by Dr. Rongfa Chang, President of Evergreen Group. From operating with just a 15-year-old general cargo ship, the company has achieved many remarkable successes throughout its history in the shipping industry. This success has been rooted in the business philosophy of "creating profits, caring for employees, and giving back to society."
Nowadays, Evergreen operates an efficient fleet of more than 200 full containerships and has developed a service network across five continents. In terms of the scale of fleet capacity, cargo volumes, and innovative shipbuilding concepts, Evergreen ranks among the world's leading international shipping companies.
Evergreen calls on 240 ports worldwide in about 80 countries and is the sixth-largest company in the shipping industry.
Its principal trading routes are East Asia to North America, Central America, and the Caribbean; East Asia to the Mediterranean and northern Europe; Europe to the east coast of North America; East Asia to Australia; East Asia to eastern and southern Africa; East Asia to South America; and an intra Asia service linking ports in East Asia to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
The company's activities include shipping, construction of containers and ships, management of ports, engineering, and real estate development. Subsidiaries and divisions include Uniglory Marine Corp., Evergreen UK Ltd., and shipping company Italia Marittima S.p.A.
In 2007, Hatsu, Italia Marittima, and Evergreen were merged into the single "Evergreen Line."
The majority of Evergreen's shipping containers are painted green with the word "Evergreen" placed on the sides in white letters. Uniglory containers are similarly painted and marked, but those containers are bright orange. Evergreen's refrigerated "reefer" containers have a reverse color scheme (white containers with green lettering).

Evergreen Marine Corporation

Ⅶ OOCL

Orient Overseas Container Line and OOCL are trade names for transportation provided separately by Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCLL) and OOCL (Europe) Limited. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Orient Overseas (International) Limited, a public company (0316) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. OOCL is one of the world's largest integrated international container transportation and logistics companies, with about 130 offices in more than 100 major cities. As one of Hong Kong's most recognized global brands, OOCL provides customers with fully integrated logistics and containerized transportation services, with a network that encompasses Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australasia.
OOCL is respected well in the industry with a reputation for providing customer-focused solutions, quality services, and continual innovation. It is also an industry leader in the latest technology applications to enhance global supply chains. OOCL's modern fleet includes some of the youngest, largest, fuel-efficient, and environmentally friendly vessels, which carry cargo on hundreds of trade routes around the world, providing a vital link in Global Trade.

OOCL

Ⅷ YM

Established on December 28, 1972, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (YM) specializes in container transportation with service routes crisscrossing Asia, Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Africa. Up to now, YM has set up over 241 global offices in 87 countries. As the company said, we offer uninterrupted services in those regional centers in the U.S., Panama, Germany, Greece, and Singapore.
Through partnerships with key global competitors, YM can effectively coordinate its global operation resources and provide customers with more comprehensive transport services.
In January of 2024, Yang Ming operated a fleet of 94 vessels with a 7.958-million-D.W.T / operating capacity of 707 thousand TEUS, of which container ships are the main service force.

YM

Ⅸ Ocean Network Express

Ocean Network Express Holdings, Ltd, branded as ONE, is a Japanese container transportation and shipping company jointly owned by the Japanese shipping Lines Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and K-Line. Launched in 2017 as a joint venture, ONE inherited the container shipping operations of its parent companies, corresponding to a combined fleet capacity of about 1.4 million TEU.

Ocean Network Express

Ⅹ CMG

Shipping is the root and mainstay of China Merchants Group (CMG). China Merchants Steam Navigation Company was founded in the Self-strengthening Movement in the late Qing Dynasty in 1872. It established the first merchant fleet in modern China, pioneering China's modern national shipping industry. China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd. ("CMES Shipping" or the "Company") was established in 2004 and listed on the A-share in 2006 (stock code: 601872). Its stock code incorporates the founding year of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company to imply a new starting point for inheriting the century-old shipping industry. As an enterprise specializing in ocean shipping under CMG, the Company operates and manages the most established and experienced maritime oil tanker fleet in China. As a leading VLCC fleet operator in Greater China and a major participant in domestic LNG transportation projects, the Company owns the world-class fleets of very large crude carriers (VLCC) and ore carriers (VLOC), leading domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Ro-Ro fleets, and a first-class container fleet in Asia-pacific region. As of the end of November 2023, the Company operated and managed 306 ships (including ordered ones) with a total DWT of 44,690,000, ranked second among non-financial shipowners worldwide.
After years of development, CMES Shipping has configured a diversified business pattern of the "shipping of oil tanker, dry-bulk, LNG, RORO, containers, crew management, and global services" in its format. Its main business covers oil shipping, dry bulk shipping, gas shipping, Ro-Ro shipping, and container shipping. Meanwhile, it has formed unique advantages in crew management and overseas outlet services.

 CMG

Based on the introduction to shipping companies, CSMC will also provide the composition of the China shipping freight calculation formula here for customers to refer to freight costs. Because in actual operation, the booking of ships and the transportation of goods are all undertaken by freight forwarding companies. The full name of the freight forwarding company is freight forwarding company, which is mainly responsible for the transportation of goods.
Generally speaking, the shipping quotation of a freight forwarding company consists of the following parts:
1. Basic freight(BASIC FREIGHT): This refers to the transportation fee from the port of departure to the port of destination, which is determined by the shipping company or booking agent based on the weight or volume of the goods. The basic freight rate will fluctuate with changes in market supply and demand, so the person in charge should pay attention to the shipping schedule and slots promptly.
2. Surcharge (SURCHARGE): This refers to some additional charges that the shipping company or booking agent will charge in addition to the basic freight, mainly including the following:
(1) Fuel surcharge (BAF): It refers to the additional cost due to fluctuations in fuel prices. The cost is generally calculated per ton or cubic meter.
(2) War risk surcharge (WRS): It refers to additional costs incurred due to unstable factors such as war or terrorism. The cost is generally calculated on a per-ticket or per-box basis.
(3) Currency exchange adjustment factor (CAF): It refers to the additional cost due to exchange rate fluctuations. The cost is generally calculated as a percentage of the basic freight.
(4) Peak season surcharge (PSS): This refers to the surcharge incurred due to tight ship slots during some peak seasons or special holidays. The cost is generally calculated per ton or cubic meter.
(5) Other surcharges: Depending on the route and port, there may be other surcharges, such as port congestion surcharge (PCS), security surcharge (ISPS), document fee (DOC), etc.
(6) Port charges(PORT CHARGES): These refer to various fees incurred for loading and unloading, customs declaration, inspection, and other operations at the port of departure and port of destination, and those will be collected by the port agent or freight forwarding company. The specific items and amounts of port miscellaneous fees will vary according to different ports and goods, such as loading and unloading fees, terminal usage fees, warehousing fees, customs declaration fees, commodity inspection fees, etc.

In short, shipping companies help facilitate the smooth flow of international trade by providing comprehensive cargo transportation services. They play a key role in global supply chains, facilitating the flow of cross-border goods and supporting the globalized economy.

If you have any corrections, please contact the editor: gianna@chinasteelmarket.com
Editor: Gianna, Hana
Mail: gianna@chinasteelmarket.com