How Has the Maritime Freight Transport Market Size Evolved in Recent Years?
The maritime freight transport market has seen considerable growth due to a variety of factors.
• The market size of maritime freight transport has been expanding significantly over recent years. It is projected to escalate from $371.98 billion in 2024 to $395.17 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2%.
The historical period's growth can be linked to the growth in global trade and economic expansion, an upswing in demand for cost-effective and efficient goods transportation, an increase in trade policy liberalization and worldwide tariff reduction, a surge in outsourcing and offshoring of production to affordable regions, and a heightened focus on sustainability and energy efficiency in maritime transport.
What Is The Forecast For The Maritime Freight Transport Market Size?
The maritime freight transport market is expected to maintain its strong growth trajectory in upcoming years.
• In the coming years, the maritime freight transport market is projected to experience robust growth. It is forecasted to expand to $496.43 billion in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%.
The anticipated growth during this period can be linked to the expanding oil and gas industry, intensifying competition among shipping businesses, surging demand for specialized freight transportation, escalating strategic geopolitical activities, and a growing need for supply chain. Key trends expected within this period comprise technological innovation, clean energy solution adoption, improvements in logistics, progress in autonomous shipping, and enhancements in maritime navigation systems.
What Are The Essential Drivers Behind The Growth Of The Maritime Freight Transport Market?
The growth of the maritime freight transport market is expected to be driven by the burgeoning seafood export industry. The term seafood export refers to the transfer of seafood products like fish, shellfish, and other sea creatures from one nation to another for sale in global markets. There is an upward trend in seafood export thanks to the growing worldwide demand for seafood, innovations in aquaculture and fishing technologies, and enhancement in cold chain logistics. The task of enabling seafood export is effectively executed by maritime freight transport, by offering a trustworthy and efficient mode of transporting large amounts of perishable seafood products to global markets, assuring prompt delivery and upholding product quality with refrigerated shipping containers. As an example, the United States Department of Agriculture, a federal agency based in the US, reported in 2023 that US seafood exports have reached a total worth of $5.18 billion and a volume of 1.28 million metric tons, reflecting a 40% spike compared to past years, signifying a robust rebound and an escalating demand. Consequently, the growing seafood export industry is accelerating the expansion of the maritime freight transport market.
How Is The Global Maritime Freight Transport Market Divided Into Key Segments?
The maritime freight transportmarket covered in this report is segmented –
1) By Maritime Transport Type: Bulk Carriers, Container Ships, General Cargo Ships, Reefer Vessels, Heavy Lift Cargo Vessels, Roll On - Roll Off (Ro-Ro) Vessels
2) By Application: Short-Distance, Long-Distance
3) By Industry Type: Food And Beverages, Manufacturing, Oil And Ores, Electrical And Electronics, Other Industries
Subsegments:
1) By Bulk Carriers: Dry Bulk Carriers, Liquid Bulk Carriers, Self-Unloading Bulk Carriers, Specialized Bulk Carriers
2) By Container Ships: Feeder Container Ships, Panamax Container Ships, Post-Panamax Container Ships, Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs)
3) By General Cargo Ships: Breakbulk Cargo Ships, Multi-Purpose Cargo Vessels, Conventional General Cargo Ships
4) By Reefer Vessels: Dedicated Reefer Ships, Reefer Container Ships, Refrigerated Cargo Carriers
5) By Heavy Lift Cargo Vessels: Heavy Lift Ships, Semi-Submersible Heavy Lift Vessels, Deck Cargo Barges
6) By Roll On - Roll Off (Ro-Ro) Vessels: Pure Ro-Ro Vessels, Combination Carriers, Ro-Pax Ferries
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What New Trends Are Influencing The Maritime Freight Transport Market?
Leading companies in the maritime freight transport market are pioneering the development of completely automated navigational aids to boost operational efficiency, promote safety and minimize human errors in maritime maneuvers. These fully automated navigation aids are designed to increase the efficiency of route planning, streamline fuel usage, and enhance overall vessel safety by leveraging state-of-the-art algorithms and real-time data analysis. For example, Orca AI, a maritime technology firm based in Israel, introduced SeaPod in January 2024. This is a fully automated navigational aid that operates non-stop, and it mimics and boosts human vigilance of sea routes. This system quickly processes information from multiple sources to evaluate intricate marine traffic situations in real-time. It identifies, monitors and classifies targets of all sizes or distances and provides important data to a user-friendly interface. By automating the detection and risk prioritization of all targets, it significantly lightens the workload and fatigue of bridge officers, increases their situational awareness and lets crews make quicker and better-informed decisions.
Who Are the Key Players In The Maritime Freight Transport Market?
Major companies operating in the maritime freight transport market are:
• Maersk Line A/S
• CMA CGM Group
• COSCO SHIPPING Lines Co. Ltd.
• Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.
• Hapag-Lloyd AG
• NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha)
• Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation
• ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.
• Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.
• Seaboard Marine Ltd.
• Wan Hai Lines Ltd.
• Evergreen Marine Corporation
• HMM Company Limited
• Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd.
• Ocean Network Express Holdings Ltd.
• American President Lines LLC
• Matson Inc.
• Crowley Maritime Corporation
• National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri)
• Samskip Holding B.V.
• Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group
• Pacific International Lines
• X-Press Feeders Limited
• Eimskip
• Ark Shipping Inc
What Are The Regional Insights Into The Maritime Freight Transport Market?
North America was the largest region in the maritime freight transport market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the maritime freight transport market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.
