China has strengthened its near monopoly in the container manufacturing sector.
China International Marine Containers (CIMC), the world’s largest container manufacturer, will acquire reefer factory Maersk Container Industry, an AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary that has been the subject of a sell-off for many months.
The value of the transaction is $987.3m, further bolstering what will be Maersk’s greatest ever annual financial results.
CIMC will take over MCI’s entire organisation and assets which include a reefer factory in Qingdao, China, as well as its R&D and test engineering facilities in Tinglev, Denmark.
“The divestment of MCI is part of A.P. Moller – Maersk’s business transformation, where focus is on being an integrated container transport and logistics company creating customer value across the entire supply chain,” said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of fleet and strategic brands at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
Mai Boliang, chairman and CEO of CIMC, said: “By leveraging technology and innovation we want to create a new growth platform within cold chain.”
Chinese factories now account for more than 96% of the world’s dry cargo containers and 100% of the world’s refrigerated containers.
Great news for Maersk, but I don’t see anything but downside for the global container trade.