Tank container fleet grows by 10.8 percent

A survey sponsored by the International Tank Container Organization found the top 10 operators and leasing companies dominated the industry.

   The worldwide tank container fleet grew by 10.8 percent in 2018 to an estimated 604,700 units as of Jan. 1, according to the 2019 Global Tank Container Survey sponsored by the International Tank Container Organization released Wednesday.
   A handful of tank container operators and leasing companies dominated the industry. The top 10 operators accounted for 225,849 tanks, which represented about 59 percent of the global operators’ fleet, and the top 10 leasing companies accounted for 227,780 or about 82 percent of the total leasing fleet.
   The survey covered 212 operators that have a combined fleet of 381,750 units. The top five operators, all of which have European fleets, represent more than one-third of the operators’ fleet.
   The U.K.’s Stolt Tank Carrier leads the operators’ group with a fleet of 39,156 units, which represented one of seven operators with at least 20,000 units. It was followed by Germany’s Hoyer Group (33,881), the Netherlands’ Newport/Sinochem (31,800), Switzerland’s Bertschi Group (23,330), the U.K.’s Bulkhaul (22,500), China’s China Railway Logistics (20,879) and the Netherlands’ Den Hartogh Logistics (20,000).
   An even smaller group of lessors accounted for an even higher percentage of the more than 285,000 tanks identified by 36 leasing companies. The top three companies — America’s EXSIF Worldwide (58,500), France’s Eurotrainer (48,000) and Singapore’s Seaco Global (43,000) — accounted for about 52 percent of the global fleet, which is a slight drop from last year, according to the survey. 
   Tank container production also grew by 11,000 units year-over-year to 59,700 built in 2018. Tank container manufacturing was concentrated in China, and the top company — China’s CIMC Group (29,500) — accounted for nearly half of the production.
   The top six producers, all Chinese unless otherwise noted — CIMC Group, Nanton Tank Containers (8,500), Singamas (5,500), South Africa’s Welfit Oddy (4,850), China Railroad (3,600) and CXIX Group (2,500) — represented 91 percent of manufacturing.