Global terminal operators increased their TEU share to 49.9% in 2025, with capital spending up 23% as volumes outpaced the market.
The world's 19 global terminal operators raised their equity-adjusted share of container throughput to 49.9 per cent in 2025 and increased capital spending by 23 per cent as volumes outpaced the global market, reported Saint Petersburg's PortNews.
Global port throughput rose 6.5 per cent year on year to 994 million TEU, while GTO volumes grew 8.9 per cent, lifting their share from 48.8 per cent in 2024. PSA International retained the top spot with 69.9 million TEU, up 5.3 per cent, and eight operators posted double-digit growth.
New entrants AD Ports and Adani expanded alongside hybrid operators CMA CGM, MSC Group, APM Terminals, and Hanseatic Global Terminals. Spending focused on portfolio growth, infrastructure upgrades, automation, and digitalisation.
Operators are forecast to add 186 million TEU of capacity between 2025 and 2030, with greenfield projects accounting for 23 per cent of the net increase. MSC Group and CMA CGM are each expected to add more than 8 million TEU.
Concessions awarded in the privatisations of the late 1990s and early 2000s are nearing expiry. Regulatory barriers have delayed the TiL-BlackRock bid for Hutchison Ports' portfolio. Macquarie is taking a 50 per cent stake in Patrick Stevedores via its Qube acquisition, while Stonepeak and CMA CGM have formed United Ports LLC to acquire CMA Terminal assets.
Drewry analyst Eleanor Hadland said CMA CGM's deal with Stonepeak showed that partnerships can deliver win-win outcomes for investors and operators.
DP World and MSC Group have investments in all 10 world regions. APM Terminals, Hutchison Ports, CMA CGM, and ICTSI operate in nine; PSA International in eight, with no assets in Africa or Oceania; and China Cosco Shipping and Evergreen in seven. No operator widened its geographic reach between 2024 and 2025.
All 19 operators have net-zero commitments dated between 2040 and 2060, initially focusing on energy efficiency before shifting to renewable electricity and lower-carbon fuels.