The global container shipping industry is undergoing a structural transformation, with shipping lines transitioning away from the highly homogenized networks of the past decade toward a landscape characterized by greater operational specialization. Prior to 2017, the deep‑sea network was heavily consolidated. To maintain global market coverage, shipping lines relied extensively on dense Vessel Sharing Agreements (VSAs) to pool capacity. This operational strategy created a deeply homogenized market, wherein the same physical service was marketed under multiple brand names by different shipping lines, creating an illusion of choice for shippers.
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. (....)