Suspected of colluding to manipulate shipping prices, US companies sued MSC and COSCO Group, demanding nearly 4 million in compensation...

On August 3, according to foreign media reports, a US manufacturing company recently sued several large shipping companies, including container shipping giants MSC and Cosco , with the Federal Maritime Commission ( FMC ) , claiming that they were suspected of manipulating spot container freight prices and demanded compensation of US$600,000, equivalent to nearly RMB 4 million.

The lawsuit mentioned that in the process of developing customers, these shipping companies used "unfair and unreasonable" means, sacrificed the interests of small shippers , manipulated the spot container transportation market from China to the west coast of the United States , and colluded with other shipping companies, causing spot container freight rates to soar from approximately US $ 2,700 in 2019 to over US$15,000 now .

Faced with surging shipping prices, some shipping companies not only failed to take regulatory measures, but refused to negotiate contract prices , thus violating the U.S. Shipping Act of 1984 and undermining the stability of the ocean freight industry .

In response to this lawsuit, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission believes that the current global demand for containers remains high, and Biden also requires them to actively resolve conflicts between shippers and transportation companies. In this context, they feel very pressured to deal with the problem. They stated that they will set up a new audit department, deepen cooperation with the legal department , and strengthen enforcement.

It is worth noting that the initiators of the previous lawsuit also mentioned that even if the epidemic situation improves, these shipping companies will not resume their previous business methods, but will "double down" on market manipulation , artificially keeping freight prices at a high level, thereby causing shortages of retail goods and affecting consumers.

Currently, due to the surge in imports, the United States' railways, ports and warehouses are already overwhelmed with goods, while labor shortages and chaos in shipping market prices are further impacting the U.S. retail industry, and both businesses and consumers are facing broader inflationary pressures.

Therefore, rectifying the shipping industry has become an urgent issue. James Hookham , an executive of the Global Shippers Forum , also said that the organization will "closely monitor developments" and that this case will be a huge test for the FMC and the US regulatory structure .

The US shipping market is in urgent need of rectification, and bad news has also come from Chinese ports.

At around 7 pm yesterday evening , a foreign airline cargo service staff in the cargo area of ​​Shanghai Pudong International Airport was diagnosed with positive nucleic acid test. This is bound to affect the normal operation of cargo flights to a certain extent. It is hoped that merchants shipping at this airport will make reasonable adjustments to avoid the risk of out-of-stock.

MSC

COSCO Group

Logistics and freight