A anti-competitive horizontal agreement in the freight-forwarding market to be examined by the Italian Competition Authority

The Italian Competition Authority or ICA opened an investigation over allegedly anti-competitive practices regarding the market for international freight-forwarding to/from Italy (case I722, Logistica Internazionale). From 2002 through 2007 a number of forwarders are thought to have exchanged sensitive information, such as fuel prices and motorway toll, at the meetings of their trade association, Fedespedi, with a view to coordinate their pricing policy. Then Fedespedi would have sent out circulars to its members and issue presse release in order to help the partecipating undertakings implement the agreed pricing policy.
Interestingly, the Logistica Internazionale case bears some similarities with the Listino Prezzi della Pasta case in which the ICA found a cartel between the pasta manufactures. The first similitude is the great number of undertakings involved (21 in Logistica Internazionale, 26 in Listino Prezzi della Pasta plus trade associations). Apparently, the second similitude lies in how the parties have coordinated their pricing policies. As in Listino Prezzi della Pasta, the parties in Logistica Internazionale did not expressly fix which prices apply to customers, but they would have put in place a mechanism to jointly decide price increases.
The ICA shall close investigation by the deadline of 15 January 2010.

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