Operators of ocean-going vehicle carriers face months and possibly years of legal uncertainty following the launch of a global investigation into alleged price-fixing, and could face huge fines if found to have breached competition rules.
Some of the biggest specialist lines in the world, including NYK Line and Wallenius Wilhemsen Logistics, are caught up in the probe that started in Japan and has spread to Europe, the US and Canada.
Antitrust investigators in all four jurisdictions raided the car carrier companies, seeking evidence of uncompetitive behaviour.
The European Commission confirmed that officials had visited the premises of several providers of maritime transport services for cars and construction and agricultural rolling machinery in co-ordination with the US and Japanese competition authorities.
In a statement, the commission said there were reasons to believe that the companies concerned may have violated the law that prohibits cartels and restrictive business practices.
Brussels also said that such inspections do not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour and nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. Neither is there any legal deadline to complete cartel inquiries.
That uncertainty alone is unsettling, leaving in limbo any company involved in an investigation of this sort as officials plough through paperwork, emails, computer records and other material seized.
That process alone may take years to complete, as container lines know. A dozen of the world’s top box lines are still waiting to hear whether Brussels will proceed with a case against them after dawn raids across Europe in May 2011.
The consequences, should Brussels officials uncover evidence of wrongdoing, are extremely serious: those found guilty could be fined up to 10% of corporate turnover.
If a full-scale inquiry launches in Europe, the worst-case scenario is that those involved could face several years of court action and hefty legal bills, if past antitrust cases are an indicator.
If there is a prima facie case against the pure car and truck carriers, it may take two years before a statement of objections is issued, and another 12 months for the decision to be delivered.
The PCTC lines operate in a far more tightknit world than the container lines. Half a dozen carriers dominate the deepsea trades for shipping cars, trucks and rolling machinery such as construction equipment.
These include K Line and MOL as well as NYK, the South Korean joint venture Eukor and Norwegian-Swedish operator WWL.
WWL issued a statement confirming that after a raid by the Japan Fair Trade Commission, it had received requests for information from the European Commission, the US federal authorities and the Competition Bureau Canada.
“The purpose of these requests is to ascertain whether there is evidence of any infringement of competition law related to possible price co-operation between carriers and allocation of customers,” WWL said.
“As a commercial carrier, the company fell within the scope of the competition authorities’ investigation. We have no further details about the nature of the investigation, but are willingly co-operating with the authorities.”
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