South Korean shipping firms Sinokor and Heung-A will merge their container-line operations in late 2019. The deal is likely to be driven by a need for rationalization. Heung-A has seen a decline in its profitability, falling to an EBITDA loss of 1% in the fourth quarter of 2017. Privately-owned Sinokor has been persistently more profitable, achieving an 11% EBITDA margin in 2016 vs. Heung-A’s 4%. The combined entity will still only be the 21st largest globally, and with an average vessel size of just 1,246 TEUs further consolidation – perhaps with Hyundai MM – may be neede...