The European Commission said that it is investigating whether the way these companies announce rate increases was a veiled effort to coordinate price hikes, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The commission declined to name the firms under investigation, but two shippers said they had either been informed they were part of the probe or intended to co-operate. Both said they have acted legally in their pricing practices.
A person familiar with the probe said it focuses on 14 firms, among them the world's major container shipping companies from Europe and Asia, though this person declined to name any of them.
The commission said it would probe whether what appeared to be a standard and transparent way of announcing rate increases was, in reality, an illicit way by which big shippers signalled to each other their price intentions.
It is unclear how specifically investigators believe shippers may have used these announcements to fix prices, and the commission didn't provide examples.
Since 2009, the commission said, companies have been making regular public announcements of price-increase intentions through news releases on their websites and in the trade press.
The announcements are usually made successively, a few weeks before the price hikes are set to go into place, the commission said.
"This practice may allow the companies to signal future price intentions to each other and may harm competition and customers," the commission said.
Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, the world's top three shipping firms by capacity, have announced rate increases, roughly simultaneously, three times so far this year, with a fourth hike planned for December. But those attempts have all been undercut by smaller container companies offering cheaper pricing, and the increases didn't stick. Freight rates are still lower now than they were at the beginning of the year.
The commission didn't name these three as specific targets of the probe. Maersk, however, said in a statement that it had been informed "it will be part of the investigation." It said the company has "no reason to believe that Maersk Line has behaved in a manner not in accordance with EU competition law."
CMA CGM said it was subject to inspections by the commission in May 2011, adding that it will "cooperate fully" with investigators and "is strongly of the view that its practices regarding price announcement are fully compliant with the EU law."
A representative for MSC wasn't immediately available for comment, but is also under investigation.
The container shipping industry is going through one of its toughest cyclical downturns, marked by overcapacity and weak global economic growth.
The probe could result in steep fines if investigators find evidence of collusion. It also puts a cloud over a separate effort by Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM to bolster their business.
The three earlier this year announced a broad alliance in which they would share capacity on certain, heavily trafficked trade routes. The EU is currently weighing whether to approve that deal - set to go into effect sometime next year, pending green lights from regulators in Europe, the US and China.
The commission declined to name the firms under investigation, but two shippers said they had either been informed they were part of the probe or intended to co-operate. Both said they have acted legally in their pricing practices.
A person familiar with the probe said it focuses on 14 firms, among them the world's major container shipping companies from Europe and Asia, though this person declined to name any of them.
The commission said it would probe whether what appeared to be a standard and transparent way of announcing rate increases was, in reality, an illicit way by which big shippers signalled to each other their price intentions.
It is unclear how specifically investigators believe shippers may have used these announcements to fix prices, and the commission didn't provide examples.
Since 2009, the commission said, companies have been making regular public announcements of price-increase intentions through news releases on their websites and in the trade press.
The announcements are usually made successively, a few weeks before the price hikes are set to go into place, the commission said.
"This practice may allow the companies to signal future price intentions to each other and may harm competition and customers," the commission said.
Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, the world's top three shipping firms by capacity, have announced rate increases, roughly simultaneously, three times so far this year, with a fourth hike planned for December. But those attempts have all been undercut by smaller container companies offering cheaper pricing, and the increases didn't stick. Freight rates are still lower now than they were at the beginning of the year.
The commission didn't name these three as specific targets of the probe. Maersk, however, said in a statement that it had been informed "it will be part of the investigation." It said the company has "no reason to believe that Maersk Line has behaved in a manner not in accordance with EU competition law."
CMA CGM said it was subject to inspections by the commission in May 2011, adding that it will "cooperate fully" with investigators and "is strongly of the view that its practices regarding price announcement are fully compliant with the EU law."
A representative for MSC wasn't immediately available for comment, but is also under investigation.
The container shipping industry is going through one of its toughest cyclical downturns, marked by overcapacity and weak global economic growth.
The probe could result in steep fines if investigators find evidence of collusion. It also puts a cloud over a separate effort by Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM to bolster their business.
The three earlier this year announced a broad alliance in which they would share capacity on certain, heavily trafficked trade routes. The EU is currently weighing whether to approve that deal - set to go into effect sometime next year, pending green lights from regulators in Europe, the US and China.
