EU raids international freight forwarding companies for suspected cartels
12/10/2007 16:09
The European Commission said yesterday it had raided several companies in
the international freight forwarding sector for suspected cartels.
Commission
officials, accompanied by their counterparts from relevant national competition
authorities, carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of various
providers of international freight forwarding services on Wednesday, the
European Union (EU)' s antitrust watchdog said in a statement.
Though making
it clear that the surprise inspections do not mean the companies are guilty of
anti-competitive behavior, the commission said it had reason to believe the
companies concerned may have breached the EU antitrust rules prohibiting
restrictive business practices.
Surprise inspections are a preliminary step
in investigations into suspected cartels.
The commission said there is no
strict deadline to complete cartel inquiries. Their duration depends on a number
of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the
undertakings concerned cooperate and the exercise of the rights of
defense.
Freight forwarding is the organization of transportation of items
along with related activities such as customs clearance, warehousing and ground
services.
Xinhua
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