Of the world’s top 12 container shipping carriers, 8 of them increased overall capacity in 2020 despite all 12 making stinging capacity cuts in the first half of the year as Covid-19 lockdowns hit demand.

As LloydsLoadingList reports, the carriers HMM and CMA CGM posted the largest size gains last year with both adding more than 300,000 (TEU) of capacity as carriers reacted to surging global demand for goods in the second half of the year.

CMA CGM added 64 ships while HMM increased its fleet size by 85% through a substantial newbuilding program which enabled the line to jump from 10th place up to 8th according to Alphaliner’s Top 12 carrier rankings of carriers by size.

MSC’s fleet capacity growth last year of 2.4% meanwhile saw it edge closer to Maersk (-2% in 2020) at the top of the rankings.

For further reading plus a chart of carrier fleet capacity gains and lossed during last year, click here.