Supply Chain Research

CMA-CGM reportedly approached Hapag-Lloyd to pursue a merger but was rebuffed. That’s not a surprise given the close-ownership in the sector and resulting low likelihood of hostile deals. As flagged in our 2H 2018 Outlook consolidation among the container-lines is needed in the face of falling profitability. A CMA-Lloyd would be the largest container-line globally at 4.2 million TEUs of capacity (3% bigger than Maersk and 28% larger than MSC). The combined group would also be able to share best practices on costs – Hapag Lloyd’s profitability bucked the industry trend in 1Q by improving ...