MSC has established the largest capacity for refrigerated containers, reinforcing its position as the top liner operator. According to Alphaliner's report, MSC's fleet has expanded by nearly 20% over the past year, with its 815 ships equipped with 583,700 reefer plugs, marking an increase of almost 18%.

Ocean Network Express (ONE) is the only company with more significant growth in the number of reefer plugs, at approximately 23%. This pan-Japanese carrier increased its overall fleet by 17.5%.

In contrast, South Korean flagship carrier HMM is the sole liner operator that reduced its reefer capacity by just over 1%. This reduction occurred as it downsized its overall fleet by over 2% after returning some chartered ships. Unsurprisingly, ranking the top 10 carriers by reefer plugs generally aligns with the ranking by total fleet capacity. The only exception is ZIM Line, ranked 10th, the eighth largest in reefer plugs. This Israeli carrier can allocate over 22% of its fleet to carry reefers.

Alphaliner's reefer plug count verifies that European carriers dedicate a more significant proportion of their total capacity for reefer cargo. The slots available for plugged-in reefer boxes range from 20% for MSC to 23% for Maersk Line, with CMA CGM (22.5%) and Hapag-Lloyd (21.2%) in between. This contrasts with their Asian counterparts, which range from 15.7% to 17.5%, with ONE at the high end and HMM at the low end.