The liner shipping network of the world has been changing in an insidious yet significant way over the last twenty years. Though the amount of containerized trade has been growing and the number of nations that engage in scheduled services has been growing marginally, the tendency of countries that are directly linked by sea routes has been diluted. Since 2006, the world container shipping network has moved towards a more centralized structure, based more on transshipment and hub-and-spoke dynamics.

Figure 2: Liner Shipping Global Network (2026)

The initial two figures offer the network map of the liner shipping system in the world at the beginning of 2006 and that of 2026. The nodes are all countries, and the line indicates that there is at least one direct container shipping route between two countries. In 2006, the layout shows a more interconnected landscape with direct connections between most countries across several regions. By 2026, the density of the network has diminished, and the focus shifted towards major nodes, representing the rise of global hubs.

Figure 3: Comparison of Degree Distributions (2006 vs 2026)

The shift is well depicted in the third figure, the histogram comparing degree distributions. In 2006, direct shipping partners went up to 28.1 on average. By 2026, this fell to 25.2. This confirms that even if the countries that engage in container shipping slightly grew from 161 in 2006 to 166 in 2026, the number of direct connections fell overall. More countries find themselves relying on transshipment rather than direct shipping.

At the international level, the median number of liner companies per bilateral is constant at four. Nevertheless, the mean decreases from 8.32 to 9.76 from 2006 to 2026, which indicates that the global container shipping market is becoming more centralized and less diverse at the international level.