European Shippers’ Council supports FedEx-TNT merger

The ESC’s support for the merger stands in sharp contrast to its opposition to a proposed merger proposed between UPS and TNT in 2012.    The European Shippers’ Council said in a statement this week that it supports the merger between TNT and FedEx, noting that a survey of its members found 90 percent of them are in favor of the deal.
   The ESC’s support for the merger stands in sharp contrast to its opposition to a proposed merger proposed between UPS and TNT in 2012.
   Then, “Our members heavily complained about the possibility of losing one of the three (TNT, UPS and DHL) European express carriers and this would result to lack of competition in the European market. UPS and TNT were active in the same areas of the European express market and provided the European industry the same type of services.”   
   ESC said the reasons why its members welcome the FedEx-TNT merger were “almost unanimous.”
   “The express customers/users never saw FedEx as an option for the intra-European market. FedEx is, in the eyes of many European shippers, a great way in moving cargo from Europe to and from the US, but not for moving packages from EU member state A to EU member state B,” ESC said.
   After the deal with FedEx, the ESC explained, there will still be three big intra-European express carriers: TNT/FedEx, UPS and DHL.
   “Another reason to support this merger is the financial situation of TNT. Without a takeover and a financial impulse, TNT will probably not survive for a very long time in the express market. Competition will probably grow due to the strong position of FedEx and better logistic services will be provided to the European industry,” added ESC.