[280615.EN.BIZ] ESC To Regulators: Tell Carriers To Tell Their Secrets So We Can Understand

A WORLD of heightened regulation with carriers' data - even commercially sensitive information - made available to a wider group of academics and sundry experts, has been proposed by the European Shippers Council (ESC) to meet the risks of uncompetitive wrong-doing by shipping lines.

Not that any wrongdoing is evident at the moment, the ESC conceded, but all should be made ready through co-ordinated international action of regulators, shippers and forwarders when it does.

In a paper released to coincide with the recent meeting of regulatory authorities of the EU, China, and the US in Brussels on antitrust activities, made anti-climactic by their absence, the ESC was left to warn of future risk.

The often foggy ESC "white paper" wants the consolidation information about the market situation to be submitted by carriers, shippers and forwarders, claiming it will provide a better idea of what is happening.

"Exchanging not only findings but interpretation will also help," it said - then foggily adding "as it might prove very difficult to analyse the real impact of the newly born ship operator's cooperation as well as their real benefits for the whole supply chains and the end customer".

The paper also proposed shippers' associations and freight forwarders' associations to launch a collaboration at international level "to jointly collect and report some data such as perceived service quality", reported Lloyd's Loading List.

"Then professional experts, consultants and academics, could be called to analyse the data and identify emerging trends. Such surveys could be started by the end of 2015 and the first results made available by mid-2016," said the ESC paper.

The paper also suggested a threefold joint action plan between the three main competition authorities of the world ?MOFCOM from China, FMC from US and DGCOMP from EU ?who have started regular consultation meetings on that matter since 2014.

The ESC recommendations would require regular meetings worldwide so bureaucrats, academics, consultants and industry lobbyists could discuss the risks of carrier wrong-doing.

Source : HKSG.