X-Press Feeders has widened the gap on its main rival Unifeeder as the world’s largest common feeder operator. The Singapore-headquartered X-Press (ranked 13ᵗʰ overall in the Alphaliner Top 100) has expanded its fleet by an impressive 21.8% or 35,000 teu since October 2023. By comparison, the global liner fleet grew by 10.9% in the same period.
At the same time, Unifeeder (ranked 17ᵗʰ) has increased its fleet capacity by 23,000 teu, which represents a growth rate of 17.9%.
Both carriers are benefitting from the Red Sea crisis which has forced most mainline operators (MLOs) to avoid the Suez Canal and instead call on third party feeder operators.
This has resulted in an upswing in shortsea traffic, on trades such as the Middle East/Indian Subcontinent trade for X-Press, and Intra-Med traffic for Unimed Feeder Services (UFS), the Intra-Med affiliate of Unifeeder.
Unifeeder is an asset-light operator relying fully on the charter market for its tonnage needs. By contrast, the proportion of owned ships in X-Press Feeder’s fleet currently stands at 59%, down from 62% in October 2023.
Source: Alphaliner
