South Africa Refers Price-Fixing Case Against Major Lines

South Africa’s Competition Commission has formally referred a price-fixing case involving eight major container carriers to the country’s Competition Tribunal, alleging coordinated increases in general rate adjustments (GRIs) on routes linking Asia with southern and western Africa.

The complaint targets the South African divisions of Mediterranean Shipping Co, Maersk, CMA CGM, Pacific International Lines, Evergreen, COSCO, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line). MOL and K Line no longer operate as independent carriers, having merged their container operations into Ocean Network Express (ONE) in 2017.

According to the commission, the companies “allegedly fixed the general rate increase charged to customers for shipping cargo between South Africa and Asia and between the nation and the western part of Africa from 2008 to 2018, in contravention of domestic antitrust laws.”

Commissioner Doris Tshepe said: “The dismantling of the cartel will reduce the price of goods imported to South Africa for the benefit of consumers and will also reduce the costs of exports out of South Africa, which will, in turn, render the South African exports competitive in the world markets.”

Investigators found that the carriers applied identical GRIs on several trade lanes, including from Shanghai, Ningbo and Shekou to Durban, from Durban to Hong Kong, and from Qingdao to Durban.