Eurpean Commission targets shipping lines in antitrust probe

In a statement the Commission said that since 2009 these companies had made regular public announcements of price increase intentions and that these announcements, often made via releases and the trade press, state the amount of increase and the date of implementation, which are generally similar for all companies.

“These announcements are usually made by the companies successively a few weeks before the implementation date,” said the statement.

The Commission has concerns that this practice may allow the companies to signal future price intentions to each other and may harm competition and customers by raising prices on the market for container liner shipping transport services on routes to and from Europe.