Sea-Intelligence (Sept 9th, 2026) – Alliance Network Segregation and Overlap

Issue 781 of the Sea-Intelligence Sunday Spotlight reveals a striking level of network specialisation between the alliances on the Asia‑Europe and Transpacific trades. Rather than competing head‑to‑head by offering identical direct port combinations, the carrier alliances are structurally segregating their networks to create unique commercial opportunities.

The data from Figure 1 illustrates that overlapping direct port-pairs are remarkably limited on Asia‑Europe. While 65% of direct port-pairs see no overlap, only 21% of unique port-pairs are shared by two carrier alliance networks. Furthermore, just 9% of the port pairs are served by three alliances, and a mere 5% receive connections from all four alliance networks. This heavily segregated environment indicates that carrier alliances are purposefully designing highly specialised direct networks to differentiate their commercial products, avoiding a fully commoditised market where everyone offers the same routing.

A closer examination of the exclusive 65% "no overlap" segment highlights clear strategic differences among the carrier alliances. MSC dominates this highly specialized space by calling 40% of all single‑alliance port-pairs. By leveraging its extensive standalone fleet, MSC can offer a significant number of direct connections that no other carrier alliance currently provides to the market.

Following MSC, Ocean Alliance remains highly competitive by holding a 34% share of these exclusive Asia‑Europe port-pair combinations, pointing toward its own extensive direct‑call strategy. Meanwhile, Gemini Cooperation captures a 16% share of this specialised market segment. Premier Alliance accounts for the remaining 10% of the exclusive port pairs. This smaller share indicates that Premier Alliance employs a much more standardised network design compared to its rivals on this trade.

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All quotes can be attributed to: Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence.