Container shipping entering another round of consolidation?

Chinese carriers COSCO and China Shipping told the Federal Maritime Commission they are in the beginning stages of a merger, while Bloomberg reported CMA CGM has entered into talks to buy APL parent Neptune Orient Lines.    It seems the container shipping industry could be headed into another round of consolidation.
   Federal Maritime Commissioner William P. Doyle said in a statement Friday state-owned China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) “are in the beginning stages of a merger.”
   Doyle made his remarks after meeting in Shanghai with executives from China’s two largest liner companies. He was in China as part of the U.S.–China Maritime Bilateral Consultations this week in Suzhou, China.
   Also on Friday, Bloomberg news service reported France’s CMA CGM “is in talks to acquire Singapore container shipping company Neptune Orient Lines,” the parent of liner company APL.
   Quoting unamed sources, Bloomberg said Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings is seeking a buyer and CMA CGM has made a preliminary offer.
   Bloomberg also said container shipping giant Maersk is in talks with Temasek about acquiring NOL.
   Doyle said the FMC and Maritime Administration had “a successful week of discussions with China with respect to commercial maritime relations. I’d like to thank the Chinese delegation led by Deputy Director Wang Mingzhi of the Ministry of Transport for their warm welcome and hospitality while in Suzhou.”
   “We discussed many matters including the recent chemical explosion in the port of Tianjin, overcapacity in the liner trade, tariffs, potential COSCO–CSCL merger, and China’s pilot program regarding four free trade zones,” he added.
   Doyle fielded questions from the executives at COSCO and China Shipping regarding communications with the FMC and advised them “to work closely with FMC staff.”
   “The topics of discussion included the alliances that COSCO and CSCL are currently members of, and, to what extent, that may change during merger talks and post-merger,” said Doyle.
   COSCO is a member of the CKYHE alliance, along with Japan’s “K” Kine, South Korean-based Hanjin Shipping, and Yang Ming and Evergreen Line of Taiwan, while CSCL is part of the Ocean3 Alliance with CMA CGM and United Arab Shipping Company.
   The FMC voted this week to allow COSCO Europe’s petition for exemption from the government controlled carrier 30-day filing requirements on lowering tariff rates, according to Doyle.