Brussels, 23 November 2022
On the 23rd of November, the European Freight Forwarders Association (CLECAT), the European Logistic Association (ELA) and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) jointly organised the Logistic for Europe event, to debate the challenges of European logistics and the need for enhanced collaboration between parties in the European and global supply chains.
The event gathered shippers, freight forwarders, logistics sector professionals and representatives from the European institutions, and addressed the growing pressure on trade to keep cargo moving in a sustainable and efficient way in times of the energy crisis. Moreover, it also discussed the changes in the container shipping market in recent years, and how changes to the competition rules could restore trust and confidence in the container shipping industry.
During the session which dealt with the maritime competition regulation reform, Olaf Merk, Project Manager for Ports and Shipping at the International Transport Forum (ITF), focused its intervention on the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER). Mr. Merk argued that CBER is a tool of competition policy that:
- Should allow consumers a fair share of the benefit from the block exemption;
- Should contribute to improving the production and distribution of goods or promoting technical and economic progress;
- Should not impose restrictions that are not indispensable;
- Should not allow the complete elimination of competition in respect to a substantial part of the relevant market.
Even though CBER defines a 30% combined market share threshold for consortia, Mr. Merk explained that the sum of the combined market shares of consortium members on a given trade route is often above 100% (by taking into account the interlinkages between carriers and consortia), calling therefore for a policy response and suggesting the following:
- To reconsider the competition arrangements for liner shipping;
- To improve competition monitoring (cross-border);
- To pay more attention on fair competition in door-to-door container transport;
- To increase transparency of rates and charges;
- To collect performance information on the containerised transport chain.
A panel debate followed, discussing whether the CBER still fit-for-purpose in view of industry trends such as concentration and vertical integration. Mr. Henrik Mørch, Director of Services at the European Commission (DG COMP), claimed that the consultation phase of the review process into the CBER had ended and preliminary conclusions to assess whether the CBER should continue or not, are expected to be published in the Commission’s Staff Working Document in Q1 2023.