Liner shipping and EU competition law

As of October 2008, liner shipping companies lose their privileged status under EU competition law due to withdrawal of the liner conference block exemption, which generously authorized horizontal price-fixing and similar agreements between liner shipping companies. Where the liner consortia block exemption does not apply, all cooperative activity should be carefully and individually assessed under the competition provisions of the EC Treaty.

Alla Pozdnakova has taken this opportunity to research and write an in-depth study of competition law problems in the liner shipping context. Her analysis is not only the first to examine the new European regime, and thus the most up-to-date study of the subject; it is in fact the first major independent study of how Articles 81 and 82 EC are construed and applied to the market conduct of liner shipping companies. In particular, the author addresses the following legal questions:
• Does cooperation between liner shipping companies infringe Article 81(1) even if it does not entail hard-core restrictions of competition?
• Can a cooperative arrangement between liner shipping companies claim that the efficiencies they produce outweigh the negative impact on competition (Article 81(3))?
• When do certain market strategies of liner carriers become an abuse of a collective or individual dominant position (Article 82)?
• Does parallel pricing behaviour infringe EC Treaty competition rules?

Systematically, the author considers various market strategies of liner shipping companies and tests them as to their compatibility with EC Treaty competition provisions. In doing so, she thoroughly analyses European Commission decisions and judgments of the European courts, applying them authoritatively to the liner shipping sector. In this way, her book provides a well-structured account that clearly identifies the legal issues that liner shipping companies are likely to face once the special treatment traditionally allowed them is withdrawn. A summary of current and prospective developments in EU competition regulation and policy in liner shipping rounds up the analysis.

Contents:
Part I. Introduction
1. Objective and Problem
2. Sources and Method
3. Structure of this Book

Part II. Cooperative and Unilateral Market Conduct of Liner Shipping Companies
4. Introduction
5. Cooperation between Liner Shipping Companies
6. Tacit Collusion in Liner Shipping

Part III. Liner Shipping Cartels
7. Introduction
8. Liner Shipping Cartels under Article 81(1) EC
9. Application of Article 81(3) EC to Liner Shipping Cartels

Part IV. Joint Ventures between Liner Shipping Companies
10. Introduction
11. Liner Carrier Joint Ventures under Article 81(1) EC
12. Block Exemption of Liner Consortia under Article 81(3) EC
13. Individual Application of Article 81(3) EC to Joint Ventures in Liner Shipping

Part V. Dominant Position of Liner Shipping Companies
14. Introduction
15. Assessment of Dominant Position of Liner Shipping Companies under Article 82 EC
16. Collective Dominant Position of Liner Shipping Companies

Part VI. Abuse of Dominant Position in Liner Shipping
17. Introduction
18. Excessive Tariff Rates and other Exploitative Conduct
19. Unfairly Low Tariff Rates in Liner Shipping
20. Price Discrimination in Liner Shipping
21. Loyalty Arrangements with Shippers
22. Regulation of Cooperation with Competing Carriers

Part VII. New Competition Regulation of Liner Shipping

• Primary Source