Published on 21 Jul 2024 on Insider Monkey · via Yahoo Finance

Matson, Inc. (MATX): Among the Best Shipping and Container Stocks Right Now?

We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Shipping and Container Stocks To Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) stands against the other shipping and container stocks.

Before the invention of the intermodal shipping container, goods were shipped in various-sized boxes that workers had to load and unload from ships manually. This method was inefficient, expensive, and time-consuming, making it difficult to transfer cargo across different modes of transport. The introduction of the first standardized intermodal shipping container in the 1950s revolutionized world trade. Approximately 90% of globally traded goods rely on maritime transportation, and the volume of maritime trade is projected to triple by 2050 due to rising demand. With the growth of the world economy over the past decades, the volume of freight transported by ships has also increased. In 2021, about 1.95 billion metric tons of cargo were shipped globally, up from approximately 0.1 billion metric tons in 1980. Consequently, the global container fleet has expanded significantly. Between 1980 and 2022, the deadweight tonnage of container ships grew from about 11 million metric tons to roughly 293 million metric tons.