Recent years point to a stark divergence between the physical expansion of liner networks and the contraction of commercial offerings. While the underlying physical network has expanded from roughly 250 active deep‑sea services in 2012‑2013 to nearly 380 by late 2026, the number of shipping lines actively offering space across these services has steadily declined. This shifting dynamic is most clearly illustrated by Figure 1, which calculates the average density of vessel sharing in the market.
During the peak of market homogenization in 2014‑2016, the average liner service was a highly shared asset. A single physical liner service was offered as a product by an average of 4.12 shipping lines. By August 2026, this multiplier has dropped to just 2.65, showing that shipping lines are demonstrably reducing their reliance on shared capacity and are instead increasingly choosing to shoulder more of the operational risk individually. Consequently, physical routing options are becoming increasingly distinct, signalling the return of true operational competition in the market.
