🔥The Big Six Carriers - Q3 Power Comparison!
💡The clearest, simplest, most data-driven look at the six carriers controlling over 50% of global container shipping.
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🔥 Greetings, Maritime Mavericks!
2025 has been a brutal year.
Rates collapsed. Oversupply exploded. Geopolitics wrecked schedules.
And yet—the world’s 6 most important carriers delivered 6 completely different Q3 stories.
Let’s break it down clearly, simply, and powerfully.
🔵 1. Revenue Performance — Who Held the Line?
🟦 2. EBITDA — Who Actually Made Money?
🔶 3. EBITDA Margin — The Real Profitability Indicator
📦 4. Volumes — Who Carried the Most Boxes?
💵 5. Revenue per TEU — Who Earned the Most per Box?
🔥 6. Full-Year Guidance — The Battle for 2025 Survival
🧭 7. Strategy Signals — What Each Carrier Is Really Doing
🚨 THE BIG PICTURE — 2025’s Most Important Truths
🏁 Final Take — The 2026 Power Balance Is Shifting
💡For deep dive for each carrier, see detailed analyses below. 👇
💡This analysis is part of the Maritime Analytica — Global Container Shipping Outlook 2026. For more, become Gold Member or buy the report separately.
🔵 1. Revenue Performance — Who Held the Line?
📊Q3 Consolidated Revenues: Maersk $14.2B – CMA CGM $14.0B – COSCO $8.2B – Hapag-Lloyd $5.5B – ONE $4.5B – ZIM $1.8B
Maersk and CMA CGM dominate above $14B.
COSCO forms a clear second tier, well ahead of Hapag-Lloyd and ONE.
Hapag stays mid-scale; ONE feels rate pressure; ZIM small but efficient.
Scale helps revenue — but Q3 proved size ≠ profitability.