Habben Jansen said that he still expects freight rates to increase significantly in the second quarter, after first-quarter prices were 5 percent above the year-earlier period. Hapag-Lloyd shares were up 1.1 pct at 0733 GMT, outperforming the market which was down 0.6 percent. Transport volumes would also rise, while after years of overcapacity the global fleet would increase by only 3-4 percent this year with orders for new ships standing at a "healthy" 11 percent of current capacity. "Hapag-Lloyd is thus growing ahead of the market, with global volumes up c. 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2019," analysts from Fearnleys said in a note to clients. An economic slowdown following the financial crisis forced some shipping companies out of business and led to mergers such as Hapag Lloyd's 2017 link-up with UASC, which is owned by six Gulf states. This made it the fifth largest shipping operator.