Container shipping carriers operating on the transpacific trade have said they will meet Asia-US shippers for two meetings after an unprecedented first meeting last year for the two groups to try to resolve differences.
The Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement (TSA), a grouping of 12 carriers operating from Asia to the US, which includes Neptune Orient Lines' APL, have said they hope to build on the momentum of the inaugural meeting held with the shippers last March at Long Beach, California.
The TSA members will hold two more such meeting this year - in San Francisco on June 7 and in New York on June 25.
'Our goal is to continue the successful conversation begun earlier this year on matters of mutual interest to shippers and carriers, and to broaden the discussion to more customers of all sizes and types, from across the US,' said TSA chairman Ronald D Widdows, who is the CEO of APL.
Global shippers' groups have long been at odds with carrier groupings like the TSA - which within the industry are known as liner conferences - because of what the shippers say is their 'cartel-like' behaviour.
Traditionally these conferences have been granted exemptions from competition laws, permitting the carriers collectively to dictate to their customers the conditions of service, capacity, freight rate increases and surcharges.
But this special legal protection is a privilege not accorded other industries, 'where rates and practices are determined by the marketplace and not through collusion,' Asian Shippers' Council (ASC) chairman John Lu has said.
'Market forces should be allowed to prevail without any exception, as protection that comes through anti-trust immunity merely distorts the marketplace,' Mr Lu said.
Competition authorities around the world are increasingly agreeing with this view and are seeking to dismantle the conference system. This is most notable in Europe where the European Union recently announced that it is withdrawing the competition exemptions, with guidelines on competition rules for liner shipping to be issued by the end of this year, and an expected repeal of the immunity by July next year.
'This repeal in Europe will become a force and model for change elsewhere,' said shippers councils from Asia, North America and Europe at their annual meeting last October.
Recently China took the unprecedented step of formulating regulations covering conferences and their members who call at Chinese ports, which led to sanctions against two conferences and their members over the issue of terminal handling surcharges.
Singapore, on the other hand, appears to be swimming against the global current with the nascent Competition Commission of Singapore saying it will uphold the decision to grant a block exemption order from portions of Singapore's competition law for the liner industry.
Meanwhile, the TSA's executive committee of carrier chief executives has set tentative agendas for the June meetings based largely on shipper feedback from the March meeting.
A brief introductory presentation and general discussion, followed by breakout sessions, are expected to cover topics ranging from fuel costs and bunker surcharges, to overall operating cost issues, to infrastructure and congestion concerns, to the service contract cycle and the contracting process itself.
'We're pleased with the degree of interest that has been expressed concerning these meetings,' Mr Widdows said.
'We're mindful of the feedback coming out of Long Beach in favour of smaller, focused groups, but we also recognise the need to broaden participation as much as possible and will work with shippers to achieve the right balance as we go forward,' he said.
The Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement (TSA), a grouping of 12 carriers operating from Asia to the US, which includes Neptune Orient Lines' APL, have said they hope to build on the momentum of the inaugural meeting held with the shippers last March at Long Beach, California.
The TSA members will hold two more such meeting this year - in San Francisco on June 7 and in New York on June 25.
'Our goal is to continue the successful conversation begun earlier this year on matters of mutual interest to shippers and carriers, and to broaden the discussion to more customers of all sizes and types, from across the US,' said TSA chairman Ronald D Widdows, who is the CEO of APL.
Global shippers' groups have long been at odds with carrier groupings like the TSA - which within the industry are known as liner conferences - because of what the shippers say is their 'cartel-like' behaviour.
Traditionally these conferences have been granted exemptions from competition laws, permitting the carriers collectively to dictate to their customers the conditions of service, capacity, freight rate increases and surcharges.
But this special legal protection is a privilege not accorded other industries, 'where rates and practices are determined by the marketplace and not through collusion,' Asian Shippers' Council (ASC) chairman John Lu has said.
'Market forces should be allowed to prevail without any exception, as protection that comes through anti-trust immunity merely distorts the marketplace,' Mr Lu said.
Competition authorities around the world are increasingly agreeing with this view and are seeking to dismantle the conference system. This is most notable in Europe where the European Union recently announced that it is withdrawing the competition exemptions, with guidelines on competition rules for liner shipping to be issued by the end of this year, and an expected repeal of the immunity by July next year.
'This repeal in Europe will become a force and model for change elsewhere,' said shippers councils from Asia, North America and Europe at their annual meeting last October.
Recently China took the unprecedented step of formulating regulations covering conferences and their members who call at Chinese ports, which led to sanctions against two conferences and their members over the issue of terminal handling surcharges.
Singapore, on the other hand, appears to be swimming against the global current with the nascent Competition Commission of Singapore saying it will uphold the decision to grant a block exemption order from portions of Singapore's competition law for the liner industry.
Meanwhile, the TSA's executive committee of carrier chief executives has set tentative agendas for the June meetings based largely on shipper feedback from the March meeting.
A brief introductory presentation and general discussion, followed by breakout sessions, are expected to cover topics ranging from fuel costs and bunker surcharges, to overall operating cost issues, to infrastructure and congestion concerns, to the service contract cycle and the contracting process itself.
'We're pleased with the degree of interest that has been expressed concerning these meetings,' Mr Widdows said.
'We're mindful of the feedback coming out of Long Beach in favour of smaller, focused groups, but we also recognise the need to broaden participation as much as possible and will work with shippers to achieve the right balance as we go forward,' he said.