DOJ Raises Anticompetitive Issues on Shipping Alliance Filing at FMC
The Federal Maritime Commission should seek additional information about the recently filed THE Alliance Agreement due to the possibility of anticompetitive issues, the Justice Department's Antitrust Division said in comments to the FMC (here). The FMC published a notice about…
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the agreement earlier this month (here). The DOJ said its objections to the THE Alliance are similar to the concerns it submitted about the OCEAN Alliance, which the DOJ unsuccessfully pushed the FMC to prevent (see 1611080022). "THE Alliance Agreement raises a number of significant competitive concerns, particularly as it comes on the heels of the recently approved OCEAN Alliance," the DOJ said. "The creation of these two new alliances will result in a significant increase in concentration in the industry as the existing four major shipping alliances are replaced by only three." Parties to the agreement would be "Hapag-Lloyd AG and Hapag-Lloyd USA LLC (acting as one party); Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.; Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.; Nippon Yusen Kaisha; and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.," according to the FMC notice. "As you are aware, once an agreement among ocean carriers is filed with the FMC and becomes effective, conduct covered in the agreement could enjoy immunity from the antitrust laws," the DOJ said in the comments. "Where, as here, an agreement contemplates extensive cooperation among members, extreme caution is warranted. We strongly urge the Commission to seek additional information from the carriers and to conduct a rigorous review of the record." A lawyer for the THE Alliance didn't comment.