Maritime Freight Transport - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2024 - 2029)

The Maritime Freight Transport Market size is estimated at USD 381.69 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 471.81 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.33% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

The maritime freight transport industry is responsible for the carriage of around 90% of world trade. Seaborne trade continues to expand, bringing benefits for consumers across the world through competitive freight costs. Thanks to the growing efficiency of shipping as a mode of transport and increased economic liberalization, the prospects for the industry's further growth continue to be strong.

All the trade chains, including the major import and export trade, face a downfall. During this adverse time and the urgency of the situation, a ban had been imposed by various countries on the entry of containers and vessels that are being operated from other ports, especially those that are transported from China.

Over 50,000 merchant ships are trading internationally, transporting every kind of cargo. The world fleet is registered in over 150 nations and manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality.

Concretely, it was estimated that higher grain prices and dry bulk freight rates in early 2022 contributed to a 1.2% increase in consumer food prices. Container ships spent 13.7% longer in port in 2021 compared to 2020, exacerbating delays and shortages. During the last year, total greenhouse gas emissions from the world fleet increased by 4.7%.

For many years, the fastest-growing segment was containerized trade, for which growth in 2023 is expected to reach 1.9%, according to a report titled Review of Maritime Transport by UNCTAD.

Maritime Freight Transport Market Trends

Containerization is Evolving as a Trend

According to UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), international maritime trade is driven in particular by growth in containerized, dry bulk, and gas cargo. However, uncertainties like geopolitical tensions and global pandemics like COVID-19 remain an overriding theme in the current maritime transport environment, with risks tilted to the downside.

The long-term trend toward the containerization of general cargo is upward rising. A large share of globalized containerized trade continued to be carried across the major East-West containerized trade arteries, namely Asia-Europe, the Trans-Pacific, and the Transatlantic. Containerized and dry bulk trades are expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 4.5% and 3.9%, respectively, over the forecast period.

Today, over 17 million shipping containers are used worldwide, which is evolving constantly. With global trade expanding rapidly, the demand for efficient cargo transport will only grow as well.

Supply and demand have facilitated growth and change since the first standardized containers, but they're not the only factors that have impacted how many containers are on a container ship. The size of containers over the years has affected the number as well.

Asia-Pacific is the Fastest Growing Market

The Asian-Pacific region consists of some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, like China and India. The trade exchanges support this growth in the maritime transportation sector by these countries, of which the majority of international trade takes place via sea routes.

Trends in global container port-handling activities also highlight the central role of Asia in global trade and shipping. Asian countries are experiencing a large increase in intra-regional trade, mostly based on manufacturing trades and reflecting fragmented production processes, where parts are generally manufactured in multiple locations across Asia and assembled in another location. This is also expected to increase trade, supported by marine transportation. Demand growth originated mostly in Asia, bolstered by ongoing energy policy shifts and rising export capacity in Australia and the United States.

The Asia Pacific region is characterized by the presence of some major countries that contribute substantial fleet value to the maritime freight transport market. China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea are among the top ten ship-owning countries worldwide.

For instance, as of January 2021, China's total fleet asset value reached USD 196 billion, whereas Japan's total fleet asset value reached USD 188 billion, Singapore's total fleet asset value was USD 79 billion, and South Korea's total fleet asset value reached USD 59.6 billion.

In addition to these markets, there are several other potential developing markets for the adoption of maritime analytics, such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. As per the Internal Monetary Fund (IMF), in December 2022, the top 10 sea trading countries included China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Maritime Freight Transport Industry Overview

The maritime transport market is fairly concentrated, with a few players accounting for significant amounts of shares in the market. Some of the prominent companies in the market are MSC, COSCO, and AP Moller.

Maritime transport is a complex activity area, owing to the inherently international nature of shipping and its multi-stakeholder dimension. The companies in the sector currently are focusing on complying with the International Maritime Organization's lower global sulfur cap on marine fuels from January 2020 as the segment moves towards implementing the plans to reduce its carbon footprint and contribution to pollution.

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