French container line CMA CGM has recorded the strongest growth among carriers operating in the intra-Mediterranean container market over the past year, increasing capacity while many rivals have scaled back.

Overall capacity on intra-Med services has fallen by about 2.7% compared with December 2024, as several regional operators redeployed ships to other trades or reduced vessel size, according to sector specialist Alphaliner.

Despite this, CMA CGM expanded its presence, lifting its market share from 17.9% to 23.1%.

The firm now deploys 124,300 TEU on intra-Med routes, up 26% year on year, and operates 77 ships in the region – 18 more than a year ago.

This places it second among mainline operators in the Mediterranean, close behind market leader MSC.

Growth has been driven by the launch of five new services over the past year, including routes linking the Adriatic, North Africa, the eastern and western Mediterranean.

Together, these new loops have added around 24,500 TEU of extra capacity to the intra-Mediterranean trade.