Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., also known as just Zim, is Israel's largest shipping firm and the world's tenth largest shipping corporation. Its headquarters are in Haifa, Israel, and Norfolk, Virginia, respectively. Zim was started in 1945 and has since grown to become a prominent global shipping corporation.

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HISTORY of ZIM

ZIM was founded in 1945 by the Jewish Agency, the Israel Maritime League and the Histadrut Labor. The company's first ship was named as Kedmah, which was purchased in 1947. Some of the early fleet's ships were employed to convey European immigrants to Israel's newly formed state. They also transported supplies to the young country as it tried to survive the War of Independence.

The company was able to focus on expanding as a shipping service starting in the early 1950s. Zim acquired several new vessels, including passenger ships, container ships, and bulk carriers, for its fleet. By the late 1960s, the company had abandoned passenger service in order to concentrate solely on the transportation of goods, cargo, and containers.

Zim really took off in the 1970s as its container service expanded. In 1972, it launched an innovative new service that scheduled a 100-day voyage to three continents and ports in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In the 1990s, Zim expanded once more, with 15 new ships built for the company.

Since its inception, Zim has gradually become more privatized, until the Israeli government no longer owns any shares in the corporation in 1999. The company's name has changed over the years, but it has always started with the word Zim, which originates from the book of Numbers. A Zim is described as maritime fleet.

For years, ZIM had considered an initial public offering (IPO), but had repeatedly postponed it due to a variety of factors. In January 2021, ZIM debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Operation of ZIM

Zim’s operations truly cover the globe with several regular routes traveled, hundreds of ports visited, and multiple international hubs and offices for logistics. The Zim fleet is made up of 95 vessels with a total capacity of 409,810 TEU. The company makes calls at 180 ports around the world and operates from ten international hubs. Weekly and fixed day routes include over 70 service lines.

Zim offers services on several global trade lanes, including East Asia-West Africa, East Asia-South Africa, the Mediterranean-Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean-West Coast, the Mediterranean-East Coast, China-Singapore-Israel, and the Mediterranean-South American East Coast (Brazil, Argentina).

* Zim operate across five geographic trade zones that provide it with a global footprint. These trade zones include (for the nine months ended September 30, 2020): 

(1) Transpacific (39% of carried TEUs), (2) Atlantic (22%), (3) Cross Suez (12%), (4) Intra-Asia (21%) and (5) Latin America (6%).