Container shipping: another major M&A wave unlikely for now

MUCH has been said of how the fragmented container shipping industry would crave for further consolidation following news on two major mergers and acquisitions in the sector, but the signs are there that another major M&A wave is unlikely for now.

Proponents of M&As in container shipping have argued that consolidation is logical for industry players wanting to acquire scale without further burdening a market weighed down by overcapacity.

But as analysts have flagged, M&As may not necessarily deliver the expected goods after taking into account the cost and pain of integration. This is one deterrent factor that industry players have to reckon with.

CTI Consultancy partner Andy Lane told The Business Times that in the proposed acquisition of Singapore-listed Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), Marseille-based CMA CGM is likely to have to fork out hundreds of millions of dollars for one-off integration and implementation costs in ad…