Shanghai: The chairman and ceo of one of the world's leading containerlines has appealed to the EU to lift its antitrust regulations. CC Tung, the boss of Orient Overseas Container Line, was speaking at the Shangahi International Shipping Forum. He said: 'Carriers and shippers need to work together to address the extreme volatility in pricing that, as we have so clearly seen, benefits neither group... Unfortunately some governments - including the EU - have dealt our industry a double whammy by banning all forms of communication and information exchange. Such information exchange is crucial to ensuring market stability. Governments should avoid trying to place a "one size fits all" regulatory regime on industries with unique situations and problems.
'We are barred from benchmarking to gain operational efficiency, discussing capacity management and important issues for the industry's survival. But at the same time, a number of governments are heavily distorting competition by providing financial subsidies in an effort to bail out the national carriers.
'I believe governments should consider a short-term reprieve from antitrust regulations, particularly on capacity management, but without giving up their oversight responsibilities and rights of approval. This would allow us to develop solutions to our problems. We in the industry know what needs to be done. Let us work together to achieve it.'
Tung was pessimistic on any immediate pick up in the container trades, suggesting the huge new tonnage overhang will ensure 'the container industry will not recover for some years'. [25/03/10]
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