Against the backdrop of heightened market uncertainty, global container shipping lines are maintaining operational stability through a series cost control measures.

Industry heavyweights such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have recently unveiled specific response strategies, including pausing vessel operations returning chartered vessels, scrapping old ships, and implementing "slow steaming."

Xeneta, an industry analytics firm, noted that shipping companies'-cutting tactics will dynamically adjust with the trade environment, potentially presenting a more flexible trend in capacity management in 2026.

Maersk: Four levers to combat market downturn

Maersk clearly warned in its latest financial report that the container market would face a downturn cycle and pointed out that the current large of new ship orders might trigger the risk of overcapacity. Vincent Clerc, the company's CEO, admitted: "The shipping industry will eventually experience cyclical downturns, delivery speed of new ships far exceeds the growth of market demand, and the pressure of overcapacity is significant."

To address the challenges, Maersk has four cost-cutting initiatives:

Idle vessels: Temporarily suspend the operation of some vessels to reduce operating costs; Return chartered vessels: Return chartered to the owners in advance to reduce long-term charter expenses; Scrap old ships: Scrap high-energy-consuming, low-efficiency vessels to optimize the fleet structure; steaming: Reduce fuel consumption by lowering the speed of navigation and adjust the market capacity supply.

Clerc emphasized: "These measures aim to maintain the's financial health and ensure competitiveness in the face of market fluctuations." In addition, Maersk is exploring cost reduction space through internal process optimization and revealed that the introduction of intelligence technology may gradually reduce the demand for manual positions in the logistics sector.

Hapag-Lloyd: 2024 Crisis Response Strategy Review

During the continuous fermentation of the Red Sea crisis in 2024, Hapag-Lloyd urgently launched a cost reduction plan due to a significant decline net profit.

The measures taken by the company include:

Routine adjustment: Optimize the schedule of voyages and reduce non-essential calls; Inland corridor construction: Ensure service continuity through the China-Europe land transport corridor when traditional routes are blocked; Operational efficiency improvement: Strengthen digital management reduce the cost per box.

Hapag-Lloyd stated that the above measures helped it maintain the stability of customer supply chains amidst geopolitical conflicts and experience for subsequent market fluctuations.

Market analytics firm Xeneta noted that shipping companies' cost-cutting strategies will be highly dependent on changes in trade conditions.

Two extreme scenarios may emerge in the future, aggressive expansion and strict control. Specifically, it is manifested by quickly deploying capacity to capture market share when demand picks up and contracting through idle vessels and scrapping old ships during market downturns.

Xeneta predicts that the shipping industry will present a more complex capacity management landscape in 226, with leading companies needing to balance between "overcapacity" and "market share competition," and technological innovation (such as AI, green fuel) may become the key in the new round of competition.