The European Shippers Council is asking its members if a fair share of the benefits that container shipping companies gain from participating in consortia is being passed on to shippers.
Earlier this month, the European Commission said it will undertake a review of the “block exemption regulation” that permits container liner companies to participate in consortia. That regulation expires in 2020, unless the EC extends it.
In an article urging its members to respond to a survey about the proposed extension, the ESC noted consortia “can lead to economies of scale and better utilization of the space of the vessels.”
But it said that “a fair share of the benefits resulting from these efficiencies should be passed on to users of the shipping services in terms of better coverage of ports (improvement in the frequency of sailings and port calls) and better services (an improvement in scheduling, better or personalized services through the use of more modern vessels, equipment and port facilities).”
While European Union law generally prohibits agreements between companies that restrict competition, the ESC notes it also allows “the declaring such agreements compatible with the internal market provided they contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods or to promoting technical or economic progress, while allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefits.”
The European Commission first granted liner shipping companies a block exemption allowing them to participate in consortia in 1995 and maintained it after shipping conferences were abolished in Europe in 2008.
ESC said it is “asking its members whether they enjoyed or not a fair share of the benefits and how they feel about repealing or keeping this regulation.”
It is asking members to respond to a survey on its website that is available online until June 5, 2018.