A Billion TEU and Counting: What 2025 Revealed About Global Container Trade
By the end of 2025, global ocean freight quietly passed a major milestone. According to Linerlytica, more than one billion TEU were moved worldwide over the year — a clear signal of the scale and resilience of containerised trade.
A significant share of that volume continued to flow through Asia. Ports across China and Hong Kong alone handled around 400 million TEU, reinforcing the region’s role as the engine room of global container shipping. This performance came despite ongoing economic headwinds, geopolitical tensions, and uncertainty around tariffs, highlighting how robust underlying demand has remained.
At the same time, the global container fleet continued to grow. Total capacity surpassed 33 million TEU, with a record newbuild orderbook still to be delivered. While questions remain about the long-term balance between supply and demand, the scale of ongoing investment suggests continued confidence in global trade lanes.
That fleet growth story cannot be told without reference to MSC. In 2025, MSC added more than 830,000 TEU of capacity, accounting for close to 40% of total fleet growth among the world’s top twelve carriers. Supported by both newbuild deliveries and an active secondhand acquisition strategy, this expansion widened MSC’s capacity lead over Maersk to approximately 2.5 million TEU. For the fifth consecutive year, MSC was the industry’s largest capacity expander.
Taken together, the figures from 2025 highlight both the scale and durability of global container trade. Volumes continued to grow, fleets expanded, and confidence across key trade lanes remained strong, even as economic, political, and regulatory pressures persisted.
As capacity continues to build and demand patterns evolve, the challenge for the industry will be maintaining balance between supply and demand in an increasingly complex operating environment. The data from 2025 provides a clear snapshot of where global shipping stands — and an important baseline for the year ahead.