TOKYO -- Three Japanese marine shipping companies, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, jointly announced Monday plans to consolidate their container shipping businesses, amid a soft market driven by a glut in ships.
The companies will establish a joint venture in July 2017 that will begin operation in April 2018. The partners expect to spend around 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion) on the new business, and hope to gain around 110 billion yen a year.
