India committee calls on lines to stop setting collective rates

The Competition Commission of India will ask shipping lines in the Europe/Asia trade to desist from fixing rates and issuing advisories to members on freight rates, the Economic Times reported Wednesday.

CCI, which only came into being this year, has no formal regulatory powers, but it's expected that shipping lines will honor the request as freight rates have risen 90 percent in some trades since the start of the year, and by 200 percent to Europe.

The action may not affect rates all that much, given that carriers are on a mission to recover rising operating expenses, particularly bunker, as best they can. It also will be moot come October, when European Commission regulations ban the existence of carrier conferences involved in European trade. 

Source: American Shipper