In the third quarter, COSCO SHIPPING's container transportation volume increased by 23% year-on-year (5.49 million TEUs), successfully taking the top spot from Maersk (5.26 million TEUs) and ranking first. 

According to the Alphaliner container shipping volume ranking, COSCO Shipping's container shipping volume in the third quarter increased by 23% year-on-year, while Maersk's increase was only 2.4%. One of the key factors contributing to the slowdown in its freight volume growth was that its booking system was previously attacked by a cyber attack, causing Maersk's IT system to be shut down for 12 days. 

Søren Skou, the CEO of Maersk, said that the company's container transportation volume dropped sharply in the first two weeks of June, and shippers turned to its competitors to book shipping space. 

Due to COSCO SHIPPING's own fleet plus the acquired OOCL (1.6 million TEUs in the third quarter), Alphaliner predicts that COSCO SHIPPING may maintain its position as the leader in stable container transportation volume in 2018. 

On the part of Maersk, the acquisition of Hamburger South America is about to be completed, which will increase the transportation volume by 4 million TEUs annually. However, this figure may be reduced due to the requirements of the regulatory authorities for the acquisition. 

It should not be underestimated that the operation results of CMA CGM in the third quarter remained at the top level, with a pre-tax profit rate of 10%. This also makes it a potential rival for Maersk. 

CMA CGM's container transportation volume in the third quarter increased by 11.6% year-on-year, reaching 4.98 million TEU, which is also a new record for it. Moreover, CMA CGM has recently received 9 new orders for 22,000 TEU ultra-large container ships, confirming its ambition under the leadership of its new president, Rodolphe Saade. 

Hapag-Lloyd ranks behind CMA CGM and is fourth, with 2.81 million TEU. However, it is likely to be surpassed by ONE (formed by the three major Japanese carriers) next year. In this quarter, the combined total of the three carriers reached 3.6 million TEU. 

Hapag-Lloyd's container transportation volume in the third quarter increased by 44.2% year-on-year, but a large part of this was due to its absorption of UASC's business. Unlike Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, after undergoing restructuring, saw a 41.1% year-on-year growth in the third quarter, reaching 1.05 million TEUs, and was the true biggest beneficiary, ranking eighth. 

The privately-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company has always refused to disclose any operating or financial data. However, based on the available information and the analysis of the 2M alliance, the container transportation volume of Mediterranean Shipping Company in the third quarter was close to 6 million TEU. This means that once Mediterranean Shipping Company releases its information, the rankings of other liner companies will have to be moved down. 

In fact, there was once a rumor in the industry suggesting that COSCO SHIPPING's goal was to become the world's largest shipping company. If such an ambition existed, achieving the top position in terms of cargo volume would merely be the first step.