There are some interesting anomalies in the share of container traffic of the major shipping lines at South African ports compared to their global market penetration. Calculations by Linernet show that, while MSC vessels accounted for 33% of South African port calls in 2018, the line has a 15% share of the international container market, according to Alphaliner calculations. APM-Maersk, which is ranked as the world’s biggest shipping line, has a 26% share of berth calls and 18% global market penetration. Closest to parity with its international footprint is CMA CGM, with around 13% of local port calls and a 12% global market share. The Cosco Group which, according to Alphaliner had 12.5% share of global container traffic in July 2019, accounts for just 3.6% of South African calls. “We calculated this based on publicly available berthing information,” says Lance Pullan of Linernet. “One thing to bear in mind is that the shipping line market shares we have calculated only factor in vessel sharing agreements (VSAs) and not slot chartering agreements (SCAs),” he says.
