- with readers working within the Automotive industries
- within International Law, Strategy and Employment and HR topic(s)
Container Giants Charged Over Global Price-Fixing in the USA
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced criminal antitrust charges against four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturers and seven executives over an alleged global cartel affecting the market for standard dry shipping containers. According to the DOJ, the companies allegedly coordinated to limit production and fix prices between 2019 and early 2024, at a time when global supply chains were already under significant pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOJ claims that this conduct contributed to a sharp increase in container prices and generated extraordinary profits for the manufacturers.
The alleged conduct was not limited to pricing. Prosecutors claim that the companies coordinated on production limits, restricted factory working hours and shifts, avoided adding new capacity, monitored production lines, and created mechanisms to penalize companies that failed to comply with the arrangement.
European Commission
Scrutinizes Cartels on the Pitch
The European Commission (Commission) has set out its preliminary concerns that several synthetic turf producers may have restricted competition in the market for artificial sports pitches in the Netherlands and Germany. The case focuses on a particularly important part of the sector: the recycling of end-of-life pitches, which has become increasingly relevant as the industry moves away from landfill and incineration.
In the Netherlands, the Commission suspects that Oranjewoud, TenCate Grass and Sports & Leisure Group used their jointly-linked recycler, GBN-AGR, to strengthen their position in recycling and protect their wider synthetic turf businesses. According to the Commission, the companies may have agreed not to compete with GBN-AGR, to use its recycling services exclusively, to coordinate its pricing, and to sideline rival disposal providers. In Germany, Oranjewoud and Sport Group are also suspected of exchanging sensitive information on prices and capacity while discussing a potential cooperation, and of fixing a key recycling charge known as the “gate fee”. The findings remain preliminary at this stage.
Local Fuel Cartel is Revealed in Brazil
Brazil’s competition authority (CADE) has convicted three fuel retailers and two individuals for rigging public tenders and fixing prices in a small town in the state of Paraná. Together they are fined around BRL 50 million (roughly EUR 8 million) in fines.
The case is a reminder that cartels are not only a big-city or big-industry problem. According to the rapporteur, the companies had carved up the items in municipal reverse auctions back in 2017, staging the appearance of competition while quietly deciding in advance who would win which lots of petrol, ethanol, and diesel. Text messages between the competitors revealed both the bid-rigging and a separate agreement to
raise prices at the pump and protect their profit margins. Beyond the fines, CADE took the unusual step of banning the convicted individuals from representing companies in commercial dealings for five years, citing the seriousness and repeated nature of the conduct.
Italy Probes Biogen Over
Shutting Out Competitor’s Access
The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has opened an investigation into pharmaceutical company Biogen for a possible abuse of dominant position in the market for a multiple sclerosis medicine. The concern is that Biogen has been shutting out a cheaper competing version of the drug recently launched by competitor Sandoz.
Patients on this treatment must first take a specific test to check for the risk of a rare and serious side effect. For years, Biogen’s test was the only authorized one and became the medical standard. AGCM suspects that Biogen used its grip on that test as leverage by making it available only to patients who also buy Biogen’s own medicine and refusing it to those who would use the cheaper alternative. The competing version is said to be at least 20% cheaper, so the practice may have denied the national health service real savings on a drug that costs over EUR 1,000 per pack. Officials, assisted by the financial police, have already carried out inspections at Biogen’s Italian premises.
Eyes on AI: Korea Opens
A Study of the AI Services Market
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has launched a market study into the country’s artificial intelligence services sector, looking at the structure of the market and its competitiveness. The study covers dozens of leading Korean and international AI developers, as well as companies that build AI into everyday products such as smartphones, cars, and web browsers.
The KFTC notes that while AI is fuelling innovation and bringing benefits to users, there are also concerns that the market could become concentrated in the hands of a few firms, and that consumers could be exposed to false or exaggerated AI-generated advertising. A second phase, surveying actual users, is planned for July, and the authority intends to publish a policy report on AI and competition later this year.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
