COPENHAGEN: Global maritime regulators have found no evidence of price fixing in freight rates among the biggest players in container shipping, a top U.S. official said following a meeting that came as cargo shipping prices on some of the world’s busiest trade routes collapsed for the second straight week.
Regulators from the U.S., the European Union and China met in Brussels last week amid concerns by cargo owners and maritime fuel providers that new alliances among the largest players in container shipping would eventually control freight rates by forcing out of the business smaller players unable to compete in terms of cost and capacity.
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“All three regulators definitely have concerns over the impact of the alliances to competition,” Mario Cordero, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, the U.S. watchdog, told The Wall Street Journal. “But there is no indication that price fixing is occurring.”
Data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index show the cost of shipping a container from Shanghai to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, fell another 15.6% in the past week to $205, which includes a bunker-fuel surcharge of around $300. That means shipping companies have failed to cover their fuel costs for Asia-to-Europe sailings over a two-week period for the first time in two years.
