The Chilean carrier’s net loss shrank to $65.9 million from a $96 million loss in the same period in 2013, which included a $40 million provision for potential costs resulting from an investigation into an alleged car carrier cartel.

　　Revenue declined to $745 million from $877 million a year ago as its average freight rate weakened by more than 10 percent.

　　Hapag-Lloyd’s first quarter net loss widened to 119.1 million euros ($164 million) from 93.6 million euros ($129 million) in the first quarter of 2013, and revenue slipped 6 percent year-over-year to 1.55 billion euros ($2.1 billion).

　　CSAV expects to obtain the needed regulatory approval by September for its planned merger with Hapag-Lloyd, which would pave the way for financial audits of both companies and the signing of the deal in the final three months of the year.

　　Freight rates started their decline during the Chinese New Year in February and continued into March, CSAV’s Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Burr said. A recovery that began in April continued into May, but markets will remain “very volatile “through 2014, he cautioned.

　　A growing imbalance in the east coast of South America trade, a significant market for CSAV, was exacerbated by weak demand in Brazil and pushed rates to “very low” historic levels.

　　A $200 million capital injection following the merger will allow for the delivery of seven 9,000-TEU ships being built in Korea from November through early 2015, Burr said.

　　The $300 million annual savings from the merger and the resulting $1 billion capital increase after the two carriers join forces will enable the new Hapag-Lloyd to further invest in a more modern and efficient fleet, Burr said in a teleconference.

　　The merger “is of high importance for both companies and might change, independently of the improvement of the market conditions, the capability to deliver positive results,” he said.

　　The merged carrier will be better able to compete with the P3 and other global alliances in the east-west trades. The P3 alliance will not operate in the Latin American trades, and its individual members — Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM — “cannot surpass us in economies of scale and size of ships,” Burr said.

　　CSAV partners with P3 carriers in South American markets, and “we have good relations with them, which we hope to continue in the future.”

　　The merger will create the world’s fourth-largest carrier with a fleet of around 200 ships and a combined capacity of approximately 1 million TEUs, annual volume of 7.5 million TEUs and revenue of more than $12 billion.