Mega shipping alliance not violating antitrust rules
A major concern among shippers is whether mega shipping alliances
formed recently pose a threat to exporters and port operators. Aitken
Spence Maritime and Logistics Chairman, Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake said
that four mega shipping alliances MSC and CGM, Maersk Line, Grand
Alliance and New World Alliance and CKYHA – Evergreen from Asia to
Europe control a shipboard capacity of 13,435,000 TEUs and a market
share of 85.8 percent.
 He said from January to April this year the four shipping alliances
increased freight rates by approximately 60 percent compared to last
year.
Notwithstanding the freight rate increases, the global fleet above
8000 TEU vessels will grow by 25 percent this year posing a threat to
freight rates and profitability of shipping lines.
In this backdrop, Maersk Line expects losses again this year as
announced by its Chairman of its parent group recently at their AGM.
The question that is being posed by shippers is that “whether mega
shipping alliances is breaking antitrust rules”.
Dr. Dissanayake said that under the current European Union
regulations, each consortium within major East and West trade lanes can
have a maximum market share of 30 percent. Maersk Line controls
19.3percent as against MSC / CGM-CMA that has a market share of 29.9
percent from Asia to the whole of Europe. Grand Alliance and New World
Alliance, CKYHA and Evergreen manage a market share of 17.3 percent and
18.4 percent.
“Therefore,it is evident that the mega shipping alliance recorded aso
far does not appear to break any antitrust rules. However, in the short
term, shippers would not be able to do much as the regulations come up
for renewal again only in 2013”, Dr. Dissanayake said.
He said that as referred to in the containerisation international,
mega consortia will provide shippers with better service frequencies and
port coverage and further membership in lines will be better placed to
compete against “daily Maersk service from Asia to North Europe’.
Dr.Dissanayake said that a question is being posed “will all this
lead to less transshipment since ocean carriers will gain economies of
scale to call at secondary ports”.
LF
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