As 2026 begins, a review of container ship data collected through December 2025 offers valuable insight into how the liner shipping industry closed the year. Using Alphaliner proprietary datasets, combined with AIS-derived vessel tracking enriched with commercial information, several important operational and structural trends emerged during the final weeks of 2025.
The findings below summarize the key container ship data trends identified in December 2025, providing context for fleet deployment, vessel utilization, and market conditions entering 2026.
Suez Canal Traffic Had Not Meaningfully Recovered by the End of 2025
Following the ceasefire announced in October 2025, market commentary increasingly suggested that container ships were returning to the Suez Canal. However, AIS-derived traffic data available through December 2025 did not support the narrative of a broad-based recovery.
During October and November 2025, a total of 304 container ships transited the canal in either direction. This compared with 331 crossings during the same period in 2024, representing an 8.2 percent year-on-year decline.
Earlier in 2025, container ship traffic through the Suez had shown signs of recovery. Across the first three quarters of 2025, crossings were 6.8 percent higher year-on-year. The decline observed toward year-end indicated that this rebound was uneven and not sustained across all vessel segments.
Segment-level analysis conducted in December showed that:
• Ships in the 4,000 to 7,500 TEU range are the only group recording a meaningful recovery, including a sharp year-on-year increase in September. Even so, activity in this segment remains at less than half of pre-crisis levels.
• Megamax container ships above 18,000 TEU have avoided the Suez Canal for more than 20 consecutive months.
• Vessels below 4,000 TEU recorded a 27.2 percent year-on-year decline in canal crossings in November alone.
As of December 2025, the data indicated that any broader rerouting back through the Red Sea had yet to materialize.
Panamax Container Ships Remain Relevant Despite Aging Profiles
A closer look at the Panamax container ship class shows that while the type has disappeared from newbuilding orderbooks, it continues to play a meaningful role in today’s fleet.
For this analysis, Alphaliner defines Panamax ships as vessels 259 meters or longer, typically 13 containers wide, with lengths approaching the Panama Canal’s original lock limits. Within this group, two sub-categories stand out:
• Maxi Panamax, generally exceeding 5,000 TEU
• Baby Panamax, roughly 30 meters shorter with capacities around 4,300 TEU
Globally, the Panamax fleet consists of 513 ships totalling 2.32 million TEU. With an average age of 18.8 years, these vessels are significantly older than the global container fleet average of 13.6 years.
Carrier behaviour within this segment varies widely. MSC operates the world’s largest Panamax fleet with 107 vessels, many acquired on the second-hand market at favourable asset prices. COSCO Shipping Group, including OOCL, ranks second and relies more heavily on newbuilds and chartered tonnage, reflecting its exposure to longer regional and intra-Asia trades.
By contrast, carriers such as Evergreen have almost entirely exited the classic Panamax segment, while others such as Wan Hai and HMM show divergent preferences between Baby and Maxi Panamax vessels depending on trade lane requirements.
Charter Market Posts Its Strongest Year Outside the COVID Boom
The container ship charter market ended 2025 in an exceptionally strong position. According to Alphaliner data, demand has remained robust across all vessel sizes, with charter rates holding firm and tonnage availability at historic lows.
Despite headwinds including falling freight rates, geopolitical tensions, US tariffs, port fees, and uninterrupted newbuilding deliveries, the market remained resilient. A key supporting factor was the widespread use of Cape of Good Hope diversions, which lengthened voyage distances and absorbed capacity that would otherwise have been surplus.
Cargo volumes also exceeded expectations, particularly on North-South and regional trades, helping to limit overcapacity risks. At present, Alphaliner counts only two unemployed container ships worldwide, underscoring how tight the market remains.
Looking ahead, a broader return of traffic through the Suez Canal in 2026 could shorten sailing distances and release effective capacity back into the system. Combined with approximately 1.4 million TEU of scheduled new deliveries, this may put downward pressure on both freight and charter rates unless cargo demand continues to grow strongly.
Container Ship Fleet Approached 400 Million Tons of Deadweight at Year-End
Fleet data compiled at the close of 2025 showed that the global container ship fleet was approaching 400 million metric tons of deadweight. The active fleet comprised nearly 7,500 vessels, including 6,669 fully cellular units.
Compared with end-2024 levels, the fleet recorded:
• 4.2 percent growth in total vessel count
• 4.4 percent growth in fully cellular ships
• 7.4 percent growth in total deadweight
Total TEU capacity rose 7.2 percent, from 31.4 million TEU to 33.6 million TEU, reflecting continued up-gauging toward larger vessel classes.
Among the Top 10 carriers, fleet expansion remained uneven. MSC further widened its lead, increasing capacity from 6.3 to 7.1 million TEU, while CMA CGM, COSCO Group, Evergreen, and HMM also expanded their fleets. In contrast, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming, and ZIM recorded stable or declining market shares despite modest capacity changes.
- MSC
Vessels: 878 → 971
Capacity: 6.3 Mteu → 7.1 Mteu
Market Share: 20.1% → 21.3% - Maersk
Vessels: 718 → 727
Capacity: 4.4 Mteu → 4.6 Mteu
Market Share: 14.2% → 13.8% - CMA CGM
Vessels: 650 → 709
Capacity: 3.8 Mteu → 4.1 Mteu
Market Share: 12.3% → 12.4% - COSCO Group
Vessels: 512 → 550
Capacity: 3.3 Mteu → 3.6 Mteu
Market Share: 10.6% → 10.7% - Hapag-Lloyd
Vessels: 298 → 288
Capacity: 2.3 Mteu → 2.4 Mteu
Market Share: 7.5% → 7.1% - ONE (Ocean Network Express)
Vessels: 252 → 269
Capacity: 1.9 Mteu → 2.1 Mteu
Market Share: 6.3% → 6.2% - Evergreen
Vessels: 221 → 239
Capacity: 1.7 Mteu → 1.9 Mteu
Market Share: 5.6% → 5.9% - HMM
Vessels: 78 → 97
Capacity: 0.9 Mteu → 1.0 Mteu
Market Share: 2.9% → 3.1% - Yang Ming
Vessels: 97 → 97
Capacity: 0.7 Mteu → 0.7 Mteu
Market Share: 2.3% → 2.1% - ZIM
Vessels: 131 → 117
Capacity: 0.8 Mteu → 0.7 Mteu
Market Share: 2.5% → 2.1%
These figures highlight an industry that is still consolidating capacity among the largest players, even as overall fleet growth accelerates.
Stay Ahead with the Latest Insights
The latest aligned findings from Alphaliner and AIS-enhanced datasets point to an industry that enters 2026 with high fleet utilization, tight charter market conditions, and continued structural concentration.
As the industry moves through the new year, these late-2025 trends provide a baseline for assessing how changes in routing behaviour, newbuilding deliveries, and cargo demand may reshape the market in the months ahead.
AXSInsights is one of many solutions available in the Alphaliner platform and is essential tools for navigating today’s container shipping dynamics. By combining AIS-derived vessel tracking data with commercial datasets, it gives you unparalleled insights into global container shipping trends, enabling informed decisions on fleet management, sustainability strategies, and market positioning. Request a demo today and stay on top of the world’s most dynamic supply chain sector.
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