Vertical consolidation

Analysis: CMA CGM + Ceva Logistics – the glamorous couple

Adding fuel to the vertical consolidation fire, on Friday CMA CGM and its 3PL arm Ceva Logistics separately disclosed cracking financials for the year ended 31 December.
And given what we witnessed in just over 10 weeks since the turn of 2020, Q1 ’21 – regardless of typically seasonal considerations – will likely be another unforgettable quarter.
Bless you, Covid-19 (sigh).
Banking corner
The usual, immediate financial engineering angle ensues: we cannot overlook the …

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Market insight: MSC talks cost burden, Kuehne about sea freight pain

When some of the skilled, respectable and united Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) folks are joined by some director from the taciturn MSC brigade, rest assured your time spent on a call is well worth it.
So when I luckily came across Tuesday’s webinar arranged by K+N – full details below – I wasn’t surprised to be part of a relatively wide (and interacting) audience comprising…
… about 185 people attending, with 150 or …

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Against the odds: Kuehne + Nagel – simply self-fulfilling prophecies

It was really, really tempting today to take another deep(er) look at vertical consolidation via a brand new “Against the odds: Kuehne + Mærsk – simply revisited” after our October 2020 “Kuehne + Mærsk – the night is still young, but…“.
Umbilical cord
Buoyant freight trades across several modes of transport are a boon for those major actors controlling the assets as much as for those controlling the client, and hence holding the relationship with the …

The post Against the odds: Kuehne + Nagel –...

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Long-term investors favour financially stronger box ports over shipping lines

Shippers may be seething over perceived profiteering by shipping lines, but container ports remain more profitable and attractive to long-term investors, according to a new report.
Ocean Shipping Consultants’ (OSC) Port Sector Outlook 2021 paints a rosy picture for terminal operators, with volumes and profits holding steady despite the volatility from the Covid crisis.
“Shipping companies make for strong media interest, with high-profile consolidations and the evolution of vessel sizes dazzling...

https://theloadstar.com/long-term-investors-favour-financially-stronger-box-ports-over-shipping-lines/

M&A radar: ‘Container shipping + buyout’? Seriously…

In theory, and in practise, taking a box line private works perfectly under a short-term, typically-private equity-minded/driven horizon, assuming cyclical strength is here to stay at least through 2024.
Base case: that assumption looks spot on.
Worst case: it could be disastrous.
Either way, many thanks to a faithful reader who recently went for* the “container shipping + LBO” search on our platform.
(*Rather opportunistically, let me say, yet conveniently from an investment perspective; …

The...

https://theloadstar.com/ma-radar-container-shipping-buyout-seriously/

M&A radar: AP Møller-Mærsk LCL benchmark deal rumoured – our shortlist

Denmark’s AP Møller-Mærsk Group (APMM) – which we argued at the end of 2020 had its finger on the M&A trigger – is now rumoured to be ready to deal, chiefly to boost its Less than Container Load (LCL) capabilities.
Rings a bell, doesn’t it?
For the narrative, maybe you recall our exclusive coverage in early September, headed: “APMM hires China veteran, covets air and LCL leadership“.
When contacted earlier today via email (subject: …

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Market Insight: Product vs sales – then vertical M&A is ‘the $1 trillion question’

I recently exchanged views on the freight forwarding business with Red Yellow Horse (RYH), a galloping executive at a top 20 global logistics services provider. A gifted pro – as it joyfully emerged through a pleasantly vibrant 46 minute  conversation – RYH shed light on a number of industry aspects, crucially including the growing tension that exists in logistics when walking the “product” vs “sales” tightrope.
Our chat took place at …

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Market Insight: DSV Panalpina – time to call Mærsk

The day ‘United Copenhagen A/S’ reminded the logistics universe where the capital of the world actually stands, the proud captains praised their teams, talked up their achievements, rightly so, humbly asking us to prepare for more via their prepared remarks.
But yes, it happened: the Chinese stole their thunder.
1 to 1  
One, the asset-light alligator, said:

“Thanks to an extraordinary effort by our staff, we delivered excellent results across all our divisions …

The post Market Insight: DSV...

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FreightTech radar: ‘Amazonification’ – the rule of thumb now

The 21st century is now more than 20 years old so it would probably surprise outsiders that the logistics business is still wrestling with the concept of moving away from paper.
Computers and software abound in the supply chain, of course, but in the business of shipping goods around the world, documents still need printed and, more problematically, data gaps drain visibility and efficiency from the system.
This inefficiency leads to people …

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