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GL H4913-GL | Industry Report

Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation Industry Data and Analysis

SL
Seth Lee
Analyst New York, United States July 2025

The industry has navigated a fast-evolving landscape shaped by geopolitical tensions and market shifts in recent years. Challenges such as the Red Sea crisis forced shipping lines to reroute, concentrating shipping activities at certain ports that hadn't regularly handled major volumes. This pivot amplified operational loads and drove some ports to introduce strategic surcharges, particularly as unanticipated congestion threatened high-traffic nodes. Accompanying prior trade surges, increased flows of empty containers posed additional logistical stresses, encouraging terminals to impose heightened demurrage fees for longer-term container storage. While this produced revenue gains, it reflected broader market and supply chain volatility.

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What's included in this industry analysis

IBISWorld's research coverage on the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry includes market sizing, forecasting, data and analysis from 2015-2030. The most recent publication was released July 2025.

About this industry

What's this industry report about?

The Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry operates under the industry code H4913-GL. Companies in the Global Marine and Container Terminal Operation industry operate maritime terminals, including facility operation of docks, piers and wharves. Activities also include loading and unloading cargo from container ships (stevedoring), arranging paperwork for incoming shipments to meet customs requirements, operating a computer system to connect cargo with recipients and transferring cargo onto trucks and trains. Related terms covered in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry include twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu), roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro), lift-on, lift-off cargo (lo-lo), just-in-time (jit) inventory systems, cellular vessel, stevedoring and throughput.

What's included in this industry?

Products and services covered in Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry include Marine cargo handling, Port and harbor operations and Other.

What companies are included in this industry?

Companies covered in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry include DP World PLC, PSA International Pte Ltd. and CK Hutchison Holdings Limited.

Performance

What's included in the Performance chapter?

The Performance chapter covers detailed analysis, datasets, detailed current performance, sources of volatility and an outlook with forecasts for the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry.

Questions answered in this chapter include what's driving current industry performance, what influences industry volatility, how do successful businesses overcome volatility, what's driving the industry outlook. This analysis is supported with data and statistics on industry revenues, costs, profits, businesses and employees.

Products & Markets

What's included in the Products and Markets chapter?

The Products and Markets chapter covers detailed products and service segmentation and analysis of major markets for the for the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry.

Questions answered in this chapter include how are the industry's products and services performing, what are innovations in industry products and services, what products or services do successful businesses offer and what's influencing demand from the industry's markets. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by product and service segmentation and major markets.

Geographic Breakdown

What's included in the Geographic Breakdown chapter?

The Geographic Breakdown chapter covers detailed analysis and datasets on regional performance of the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry.

Questions answered in this chapter include where are industry businesses located and how do businesses use location to their advantage. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by location.

Competitive Forces

What's included in the Competitive Forces chapter?

The Competitive Forces chapter covers the concentration, barriers to entry and supplier and buyer profiles in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry. This includes data and statistics on industry market share concentration, barriers to entry, substitute products and buyer & supplier power.

Questions answered in this chapter include what impacts the industry's market share concentration, how do successful businesses handle concentration, what challenges do potential industry entrants face, how can potential entrants overcome barriers to entry, what are substitutes for industry services, how do successful businesses compete with substitutes and what power do buyers and suppliers have over the industry and how do successful businesses manage buyer & supplier power.

Companies

What's included in the Companies chapter?

The Companies chapter covers Key Takeaways, Market Share and Companies in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry. This includes data and analysis on companies operating in the industry that hold a market share greater than 5%.

Questions answered in this chapter include what companies have a meaningful market share and how each company is performing.

External Environment

What's included in the External Environment chapter?

The External Environment chapter covers Key Takeaways, External Drivers, Regulation & Policy and Assistance in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry. This includes data and statistics on factors impacting industry revenue such as economic indicators, regulation, policy and assistance programs.

Questions answered in this chapter include what demographic and macroeconomic factors impact the industry, what regulations impact the industry, what assistance is available to this industry.

Financial Benchmarks

What's included in the Financial Benchmarks chapter?

The Financial Benchmarks chapter covers Key Takeaways, Cost Structure, Financial Ratios, Valuation Multiples and Key Ratios in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry. This includes financial data and statistics on industry performance including key cost inputs, profitability, key financial ratios and enterprise value multiples.

Questions answered in this chapter include what trends impact industry costs and how financial ratios have changed overtime.

Industry Data

What's included in the Industry Data chapter?

The Industry Data chapter includes 10 years of historical data with 5 years of forecast data covering statistics like revenue, industry value add, establishments, enterprises, employment and wages in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the market size of the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry in 2026?

The market size of the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry is $83.1bn in 2026.

How many businesses are there in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry in 2025?

There are 324 businesses in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.3 % between 2020 and 2025.

How may import tariffs affect the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry?

The Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry is unlikely to be materially impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.

How may export tariffs affect the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry?

The Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry is unlikely to be materially impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.

Has the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry has been growing at a CAGR of 6.8 % between 2020 and 2025.

What is the forecast growth of the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry is expected to grow.

What are the biggest companies in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry?

The biggest companies operating in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry are DP World PLC, PSA International Pte Ltd. and CK Hutchison Holdings Limited

What does the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry include?

Marine cargo handling and Navigational services are part of the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry.

Which companies have the highest market share in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry?

The company holding the most market share in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry is DP World PLC.

How competitive is the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry?

The level of competition is moderate and steady in the Global Marine & Container Terminal Operation industry.

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