Japanese Container Shipper ONE Plans ¥37 Trillion Investment to Expand Fleet Capacity by 30%

The investment, slated to be completed by the end of fiscal 2030, will focus on new vessel construction, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and upgrades to port facilities dedicated to handling ONE-owned containers. Established in 2017 through the consolidation of the container divisions of NYK, K-Line, and MOL, Singapore-headquartered ONE currently operates 243 container ships with a total capacity of 1.9 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units), ranking as the world’s sixth-largest container shipper as of August 2024.

Under the plan, ONE will order 42 new container vessels between fiscal 2025 and 2028, aiming to boost its fleet capacity by approximately 570,000 TEU (30% above August 2024 levels). The company also intends to pursue strategic acquisitions or equity stakes in other container shipping firms.

The aggressive expansion reflects ONE’s confidence in sustained tight supply-demand dynamics in global container shipping. The World Trade Organization (WTO) forecasts global trade volumes to grow 2.7% in 2024 and 3.0% in 2025, driven by export-oriented industrialization in India and Southeast Asia, where smartphone and electronics component manufacturers are establishing new production bases. Emerging and developing economies are expected to fuel long-term trade growth.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, shares of NYK and MOL fell 1.23% each, while K-Line dropped 1.73% during morning trading on March 4 (as of 10:30 a.m. local time).