Mexico fines seven car carriers for collusion

Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission, the country’s primary antitrust agency, has levied fines against seven ocean shipping companies totaling $32 million for colluding on prices of routes in the auto transport services market.    Mexico’s antitrust agency, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (FECC), has fined seven shipping companies for colluding on prices of routes in the auto transport services market, the commission said Friday.
   Chilean company Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), Japanese companies Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Mitsui OSK Bulk Shipping (MOBUSA) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line), “K” Line America, and Norwegian/Swedish company Wallenius Wilhlmsen Logistics (WWL) were fined a total of $32 million regarding nine separate business agreements between the companies that were in effect between 2009 and 2015.
   The FECC said it determined that the companies colluded by assigning transport routes to specific shippers between five Mexican ports and seven countries across the globe.
   According to the commission, the firms divided the market up amongst themselves for auto transport, construction machinery and farm equipment.
   The FECC only announced the sum of the fines and did not detail how much each individual company was penalized. However, in a prepared statement released June 12, MOL revealed that it was exempted from all penalties save for a nominal fine of about $600 because the company had already ceased the conduct in question before the official investigation began, and that it was therefore granted leniency under a commission application program.
   MOL also offered “sincere apologies” in its statement, and said that its principle is “to do business in full compliance with the laws” and that the company “has been in compliance with corporate ethics and social norms.”
   “We are taking the FECC’s announcement very seriously,” the company said. “We are making our best efforts to prevent any recurrence of such issues, to further enhance MOL’s compliance structure, and go regain public confidence.”
   However, this is at least the second time in four years that MOL, subsidiary MOBUSA, NYK, “K” Line and WWL have been accused of price fixing for the ocean transport of cars. In June 2013, the companies were the target of a class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Southern California, accusing them of conspiracy to fix, stabilize and maintain prices.