By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Leading delivery container teams Maersk, MSC and 13 different corporations have provided to vary their pricing practices to settle an EU antitrust probe and stave off any fines, three individuals acquainted with the matter mentioned on Wednesday.

The case is being carefully watched by different sectors similar to supermarkets and chemical corporations which use comparable strategies to announce future worth hikes to allow clients to decide on one of the best charges and are eager to get some regulatory steering.

The European Commission opened an investigation into the businesses, among the many world’s 18 largest delivery liners, in November 2013 following daybreak raids in May 2011.

The EU competitors enforcer mentioned the delivery firms might have been illegally orchestrating worth hikes since 2009 through public bulletins of charge enhance plans on their web sites and within the specialised commerce press.

The firms have provided to publish binding precise charges a month earlier than they go into impact, the individuals mentioned. In some circumstances, the figures might act as a worth cap. A 3rd supply mentioned the provide applies just for short-term costs, not long-term ones or annual contracts.

The Commission is predicted to hunt suggestions from third events this week or subsequent earlier than deciding whether or not to just accept the pledge and shut the investigation, the individuals mentioned.

A discovering of wrongdoing might have uncovered the corporations to fines of as a lot as 10 p.c of their international turnover.

Maersk and its rivals have been hit by low charges for container freight.

The different firms concerned are quantity three participant CMA CGM, Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, Germany’s Hapag Lloyd, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), China Shipping, Hamburg Sud, South Korean agency Hanjin, OOCL (Orient Overseas Container Line), Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) , United Arab Shipping Company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha , Hyundai Merchant Marine and Israeli peer Zim, the sources mentioned.

Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso, Maersk, Hapag Lloyd and Zim declined to remark. CMA CGM didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. COSCO, China Shipping, Hyundai Merchant Marine, United Arab Shipping Company and Hamburg Sud had no rapid remark.

Nippon Yusen and Mitsui OSK weren’t instantly obtainable to remark exterior workplace hours. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, further reporting by Ole Mikkelsen in Copenhagen, Andrew Torchia in Dubai, Fang Yan in Beijing, Gus Trompiz in Paris, Jin Hyunjoo in Seoul, Tova Cohen in Jerusalem, Jan Schwartz in Hamburg and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; enhancing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Alexander Smith)

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