News / More container shipping M&A activity expected as smaller carriers try to keep up

© Vladimir Serebryanskiy | Dreamstime.com - Container ship NYK Meteor standing on the roads at anchor. Nakhodka Bay. East (Japan) Sea. 09.04.2014

There is a “high likelihood” of a new wave of M&A activity involving medium-size ocean carriers, as the gap widens between them and the largest container lines, according to shipping consultant Drewry.

The merger of the container businesses of K Line, MOL and NYK will propel the new Ocean Network Express (ONE) into fifth place in the global rankings, with around 1.7m teu of capacity (after taking into account their orderbooks), it said.

Hapag-Lloyd is sixth, with approximately 1.6m teu, and with its orderbook included, ...