The American shipping industry is one of the most crucial (but often overlooked) parts of the US economy. Every day, ships, barges, tankers, and other vessels move huge amounts of goods, energy, agricultural products, vehicles, and raw materials through the country’s ports and waterways.
In 2025 alone, US ports handled more than $2.3 trillion worth of international imports and exports, accounting for about 41.5% of the country’s total international trade. [1]
In this article, I’ve featured the top American shipping companies that operate at different points across this enormous ecosystem.
Some are major ocean carriers; others specialize in domestic transportation, tankers, bulk cargo, logistics, towing, marine services, or specialized shipping. Their competitive advantages can therefore look very different.
Did you know?The US has 350 ports that handle about 1.8 million tons of cargo imports every day. Plus, the country has roughly 200,000 licensed mariners working in its maritime industry, according to MARAD. [2]
Table of Contents
13. Foss Maritime
Founded: 1889Annual ship assists: 20,000+
Competitive Edge: Exceptional maneuverability
Foss Maritime provides towing, harbor, tanker escort, barging, and project logistics services. Its fleet includes tugboats, barges, and specialized offshore vessels.
Its deck-barge fleet consists of 12 barges ranging from 185 to 400 feet, while its offshore towing/project-services fleet includes 11 tugboats with power up to 7,268 horsepower.
The company is particularly important on the US West Coast, where it provides ship-assist and tanker-escort services at major ports. It performs more than 20,000 ship assists annually and has supported more than 30,000 tanker-escort arrivals over the last 30 years.
Foss was also an early pioneer of Voith Schneider Propulsion (VSP) in North America, introducing the technology in 1982. Unlike conventional propellers, VSP systems can direct thrust in almost any direction, giving tugboats exceptional maneuverability.
In 2009, Foss launched the Carolyn Dorothy, the world’s first hybrid-powered tug. It combined diesel engines with electric motors and saved approximately 100,000 gallons of fuel per year.
12. SEACOR Marine
Founded: 1989Revenue: $227 million+
Fleet Size: 43 offshore support and transport vessels
Competitive Edge: Strong technical and operational know-how
SEACOR Marine provides offshore support vessels and marine services for the global energy industry. Its vessels support offshore oil and gas, drilling, and wind projects by transporting personnel, equipment, and supplies, as well as handling construction, maintenance, emergency response, and well workover services.
The company’s fleet is mainly made up of Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs), Fast Support Vessels (FSVs), and liftboats. As of 2026, it operates 38 support vessels, including 21 FSVs, 17 PSVs, and 5 liftboats.
Financially, SEACOR Marine is a relatively small but highly specialized public shipping company. In 2025, it generated $227.8 million in operating revenue, down from $271.4 million in 2024. The company reported a net loss of $27.8 million, with profitability highly dependent on vessel utilization and day rates. [3]
Interestingly, they have invested in hybrid vessels that use lithium battery technology. These hybrid vessels can reduce fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 20%, depending on operating conditions.
11. American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier
Fleet Size: 10 US-flagged roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ships
Competitive Edge: Specialized military RoRo expertise
American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC) focuses on military sealift and logistics for the US government. Its business is centered on moving military vehicles, helicopters, construction equipment, containers, and other heavy cargo for the U.S. military.
ARC operates RoRo vessels designed to carry large quantities of vehicles and military equipment. Its ships have supported US military operations and exercises worldwide, transporting equipment to regions including Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.
Instead of loading cargo primarily with cranes, vehicles and equipment can be driven directly onto the ship through large stern or side ramps. This makes RoRo vessels exceptionally useful for military logistics because an Army vehicle, helicopter, armored vehicle, or engineering machine can be driven aboard, secured inside the ship, and then driven off at the destination.
10. Pasha Group
Founded: 1947Revenue: $350 million+
Fleet Size: 6 Jones Act-qualified ocean vessels
Competitive Edge: Vertical integration, Unique Hawaii network
Pasha is unique among U.S. shipping companies because it combines Jones Act ocean shipping, automotive logistics, port terminal operations, stevedoring, project cargo, military relocation, and transportation services under one family-owned organization.
Its maritime business is best known through Pasha Hawaii, which operates US-flagged Jones Act vessels connecting the US mainland with Hawaii. The company runs both container ships and a pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) on the Hawaii trade.
Pasha also operates major maritime-terminal infrastructure. Its Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals (PST) operation at the Port of Los Angeles handles breakbulk, containers, steel, project cargo, and heavy-lift cargo. Plus, its Los Angeles facility provides direct access to major highways and transcontinental railroads.
9. TOTE Maritime
Fleet Size: 4 major US-flagged cargo ships
Competitive Edge: LNG-powered fleet, LNG bunkering expertise
TOTE Maritime focuses on two key US shipping routes: the mainland-to-Alaska and mainland-to-Puerto Rico trades. It is part of TOTE Group, which also operates terminals and provides vessel management and logistics services.
One of TOTE’s biggest differentiators is its LNG-powered fleet. TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico operates the Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe, which were the world’s first LNG-powered containerships when introduced in 2015. [4]
TOTE’s Alaska operations are also important because the state relies heavily on maritime transportation. The company moves about one-third of all cargo serving Alaska’s Railbelt region. Its two Orca-class vessels can carry around 600 FEU of trailers and 250 vehicles.
8. Genco Shipping & Trading
Founded: 2004Revenue: $449 million+
Fleet Size: 45 vessels
Competitive Edge: Over 98.6% fleet utilization rate
Genco is one of the biggest US-based pure-play dry-bulk shipping companies. It owns and operates large ocean-going bulk carriers that transport raw materials around the world, including iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite, steel products, cement, and nickel ore.
The company has 45 vessels with a combined deadweight tonnage (dwt) of nearly 5.044 million and an average age of about 12.7 years. The fleet consists of large Newcastlemax and Capesize ships for major bulk cargoes and Ultramax and Supramax ships for minor bulk commodities.
The company is particularly interesting because of its shareholder-return strategy. Its 26-quarter dividend streak shows that management prioritizes returning excess cash to shareholders over fleet expansion at any cost. [5]
7. International Seaways
Revenue: $1.26 billion+
Fleet Size: 68 vessels
Competitive Edge: Diversified tanker fleet
International Seaways is a relatively young, standalone public company that began independent operations in 2016 after being spun off from Overseas Shipholding Group.
It owns and operates large ocean-going tankers that transport crude oil and refined petroleum products worldwide. Its fleet includes VLCCs, Suezmaxes, Aframaxes, LR1/LR2 tankers, and MR product tankers.
A VLCC (short for Very Large Crude Carrier), for instance, can carry roughly 2 million barrels of crude oil, making these vessels critical to long-distance transportation from major oil-exporting regions to refineries.
International Seaways is actively upgrading its fleet. In 2026, it sold seven older vessels for $216 million and began taking delivery of new LR1 product tankers. The company also ordered four more LR1 newbuildings for around $244 million, bringing its total contracted newbuild program to 10 vessels.
6. Ingram Marine Group
Revenue: $1 billion+
Fleet Size: 160 towboats + 5,000 barges
Competitive Edge: Extensive river network
Ingram Marine Group (IMG) is one of the largest privately owned inland-waterway transportation companies in the U.S. It operates across more than 6,000 miles of rivers in 18 states.
The company transports dry and liquid bulk commodities by barge, including grain, fertilizer, coal, aggregates, steel, chemicals, ores, and alloys.
A major turning point for IMG came in 2024 when it acquired SCF Marine. This transaction added more than 1,000 covered dry-cargo hopper barges, 8 high-horsepower towboats, and a network of terminals and fleeting infrastructure. [6]
Today, IMG operates 5,000 barges and 160 towboats. It also uses its Ingram Towline technology, a digital logistics platform that lets customers track cargo and receive updates on river conditions, lock delays, and weather disruptions.
5. American Commercial Barge Line
Revenue: $1 billion+
Fleet Size: 3,550 barges
Competitive Edge: Diversification between dry and liquid cargo
American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) operates a massive diversified fleet of dry-cargo and liquid-cargo barges. Its vessels transport everything from grain and coal to chemicals, petroleum, steel, fertilizer, and project cargo across nearly 7,200 miles of US inland waterways.
More specifically, the company operates about 3,550 barges powered by 190 towboats, making it one of the largest inland fleets in North America. Its fleet includes covered-hopper and open-hopper barges for dry commodities and tank barges for liquid cargoes.
Over the past five years, ACBL has invested about $1 billion in its fleet and supporting operations.
4. Excelerate Energy
Revenue: $1.47 billion+
Fleet Size: 12 specialized vessels
Competitive Edge: Faster LNG infrastructure deployment
Excelerate Energy specializes in floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs). These specialized LNG vessels receive and store liquefied natural gas, convert it back into gas, and deliver it to a country’s pipeline network.
Excelerate is not a conventional LNG shipowner; it combines ships + LNG terminals + regasification + LNG supply + downstream power infrastructure.
It currently has the largest FSRU fleet in the industry, with 12 FSRUs in operation or under construction. These vessels have helped countries without traditional onshore LNG terminals gain access to imported natural gas much faster.
The company has safely delivered more than 8,000 Bcf of natural gas and completed over 3,900 ship-to-ship LNG transfers, totaling more than 312 million cubic meters of LNG.
Excelerate is also becoming more vertically integrated. In 2025, it acquired New Fortress Energy’s Jamaican business for $1.055 billion, adding the Montego Bay and Old Harbour LNG terminals and the Clarendon power plant.
3. Kirby
Revenue: $3.49 billion+
Fleet Size: 1,161 tank barges + 317 towboats
Competitive Edge: America’s largest inland tank-barge fleet
Kirby is the largest domestic tank-barge operator in the United States, moving enormous quantities of petrochemicals, refined petroleum products, black oil, and agricultural chemicals through America’s inland waterways and coastal routes.
Its inland service area taps into a US waterway system of about 26,000 miles, of which roughly 12,000 miles are used for significant domestic commerce.
In 2025 alone, the company generated $3.36 billion in revenue, up from $3.26 billion in 2024. Marine Transportation contributed $1.93 billion, while Distribution & Services generated $1.42 billion. [7]
The Distribution & Services business gives Kirby exposure to engines, industrial equipment and, increasingly, power-generation infrastructure for data centers and other large electricity users.
Kirby’s physical scale is remarkable. By 2026, the company had expanded its inland fleet to 1,124 tank barges with 25.1 million barrels of capacity and 284 towboats. It also had 27 coastal tank barges with 2.9 million barrels of capacity and 24 tugboats.
2. Crowley
Revenue: $3.5 billion+
Fleet Size: 200+ vessels
Competitive Edge: Diversified business, Jones Act expertise
Crowley is one of the oldest and most diversified American maritime companies. Its scale is substantial, even though it is privately held. It operates more than 200 vessels and has over 7,000 employees.
What makes Crowley particularly important is its exposure to the Jones Act and US domestic maritime infrastructure. It owns, operates, or manages container ships, Ro-Ro ships, LNG-powered ConRo vessels, tankers, articulated tug-barges, tugboats, and barges.
The company has developed a particularly deep maritime and logistics presence in Puerto Rico, connecting the island with the US mainland while also providing energy infrastructure.
Its LNG operation is especially notable: the American Energy became the first US-flagged LNG carrier dedicated to Puerto Rico. In its first year, the ship transported more than 2 million cubic meters of LNG (equivalent to approximately 549 million gallons) through 17 deliveries. [8]
1. Matson
Revenue: $3.45 billion+
Fleet Size: 29 active vessels
Competitive Edge: Extraordinary network density in Hawaii
Matson has concentrated on markets where it can provide fast, reliable, and highly specialized ocean transportation, particularly Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and other Pacific islands, while also operating an expedited China-US service.
It is much more than a shipowner. It owns and operates terminals and provides stevedoring, refrigerated-cargo handling, inland transportation, container maintenance, and other terminal services. It has a 35% interest in SSA Terminals, which provides terminal and stevedoring services at eight US West Coast facilities.
In 2025, Matson generated $3.34 billion in revenue, including $2.74 billion from Ocean Transportation and $609 million from Logistics. The company reported $444.8 million in net income and $499.8 million in operating income. Ocean Transportation posted a strong 16.7% operating margin. [9]
The company is building three new Aloha Class containerships at Hanwha Philly Shipyard for approximately $1 billion. Each ship is designed for about 3,440 TEUs, can reach more than 23 knots, and will have dual-fuel engines capable of operating on conventional fuel or LNG.
Read More
- 11 Top Chinese Shipping Companies
- 13 Top American Oil and Gas Companies
- 13 Largest Lithium Mining Companies In The World
- Total value of US trade in goods, Statista
- 1.8 million tons of cargo imports every day, Maritime Administration
- SEACOR Marine’s consolidated operating revenues for the full year, SEACOR
- World’s first LNG-powered containership, NASSCO
- Dividends and Financial summary table, Genco Shipping & Trading
- Ingram Marine announces creation of Ingram Infrastructure Group, BusinessWire
- Forward-looking statements Non-GAAP financial measures, Kirby Corporation
- Crowley transports over 500 million gallons to Puerto Rico in first year, Crowley
- Annual report of Matson, SEC
