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A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world’s largest container line, said mergers such as the combination of its three main Japanese rivals provide relief to an ailing industry that has been characterized by overcapacity.

Japan’s three biggest shippers agreed to combine their container operations to create the world’s sixth-largest box carrier, as the industry steps up consolidation this year amid a global turmoil in the sea-cargo business.

NFI Industries CEO Sidney Brown will be stepping down as the chairman of the board at Sun National Bank, effective Dec. 31.

XPO Logistics has sold the Con-way Inc. truckload business to TransForce Inc. for $558 million in cash, a move that involved negotiations between two of the Top 10 companies on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

Hub Group Inc. and Echo Global Logistics Inc. reported weaker third-quarter earnings as pressure on profit margins continued to hurt results in the sector.

Norfolk Southern Corp. became the only U.S. railroad to report higher third quarter earnings, improving net income 2% to $460 million, or $1.55 per share, as cost reductions of 10% outpaced a decline in revenue.

Consumer confidence declined more than forecast in October, as households became less upbeat about the economy and labor market, figures from the New York-based Conference Board showed Oct. 25.

Swift Transportation reported profits were up 4.7%, one of the few bright spots so far in the industry for the third quarter, and the company said it was the result of cutting expenses to deal with the challenging truckload environment.

When the Marie Schulte rounds the breakwater off the Chinese port of Qingdao in early November, bankers on two continents will be watching anxiously.