News / Cosco to boost box fleet ahead of Trump tariffs and alliance shuffle 

Despite the restructuring of the three container shipping alliances, and MSC’s emergence as a solo operator, Cosco Shipping Holdings (CSH) said its liner operators would continue building capacity, while pursuing service quality.  

In February THE Alliance will be renamed the Premier Alliance and cooperate with MSC, while Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will form the Gemini Cooperation. 

At an extraordinary general meeting yesterday CSH vice-chairman Chen Yangfan said the Ocean Alliance, comprising Cosco and OOCL, Evergreen and CMA CGM, had 4.82m teu of fleet capacity and 480 sets of direct port-to-port services. This, he said, could meet expectations regarding supply chain resilience, safety, cost and other aspects. 

Mr Yu said: “Having the scale and reliability is important, as Donald Trump’s second tenure as US president is expected to bring short-term fluctuations and structural changes in the medium to long term. In the short term, there may be an export rush from China as shippers dash to beat the imposition of expected tariffs.”  

Mr Trump was likely to impose protectionist measures and Chinese manufacturing could see a further shift to South-east Asia, Mexico and other emerging economies, he added. 

Mr Yu continued: “But trade between China and Europe, China and Japan and China and South Korea may usher in new opportunities.” 

During the EGM, Cosco’s directors approved plans to order another 12 13,000 teu methanol dual-fuelled containerships, following a recent commission for 18 similar vessels. These are likely to be assigned to Cosco’s Far East-South America services, which the Chinese carrier jointly operates with CMA CGM, Pacific International Lines and Evergreen. 

Addressing concerns about overcapacity, Mr Yu said newbuilding deliveries in 2024 and 2025 would account for 10% and 5% of global capacity, respectively.  He said: “Capacity growth has slowed down, as new shipping supply was digested by about 5% to 6% due to the detours round the Cape of Good Hope, and environmental protection compliance will lead to reduced sailing speeds, and demolition of old ships.  

“Once the Red Sea crisis is resolved, the company will also make timely adjustments in global route configuration.”

The EGM was held shortly after CSH released news of its earnings for the first nine months of the year.  Overall revenue in was up 30% year on year, to $24.89bn, while net profit was up 73%, to $5.43bn.  

Cosco Shipping carried 19.04m teu in the first nine months of the year, up 9% on the same period in 2023, and revenue from the container shipping business was up 29%, to $23.79bn.