ITF Round Tables Integration and Competition between Transport and Logistics Businesses

Some very large multinational transport and logistics firms have emerged to provide integrated transport services to shippers in the globalised economy. Do these firms escape regulatory oversight from national competition authorities because of their sheer scale? Do they pose additional threats to competition when they merge with or acquire other companies in the supply chain?

The Round Table brought competition experts together with researchers on maritime shipping, rail freight and logistics to identify critical competition issues and appropriate regulatory responses. An examination of the strategies of transport and logistics companies reveals that vertical integration can yield efficiencies, but usually reflects a need to improve the use of expensive fixed assets rather than control all parts of the supply chain. This usually explains why shipping lines acquire terminal operators. Horizontal acquisitions, where similar companies serving the same market merge, are more likely to raise competition concerns. Problems are particularly prone to arise at bottleneck infrastructure facilities.

The Round Table report provides an economic framework for examining competition in global transport and logistics businesses, discusses the adequacy of the remedies available to regulators when competition is threatened, and explores the role of competition authorities and Transport Ministries in ensuring markets are efficient.

Table of Content :

Summary of Discussion
Empirical Evidence for Integration and Disintegration of Maritime Shipping, Port and Logistics Activities, by Antoine FRÉMONT (France)
-1. Introduction
-2. Containerisation and horizontal and/or vertical integration processes
-3. A strong horizontal integration dynamic, limited vertical integration
-4. Three types of logistics
-5. Conclusion
Market Power and Vertical and Horizontal Integration in the Maritime Shipping and Port Industry, by Eddy VAN DE VOORDE and Thierry VANELSLANDER (Belgium)
-1. Introduction
-2. The complexity of the maritime logistics chain
-3. Forms of integration in the maritime logistics chain
-4. In-depth analysis of horizontal and vertical co-operation among shipping companies and tocs
-5. Reasons for integration
-6. Cash or gamble? A look at some possible future scenarios
-7. Conclusions
Railway and Ports Organisation in the Republic of South Africa and Turkey: The Integrators Paradise?, by Louis S. Thompson (USA)
-1. Introduction
-2. Structural definition and discussion of logistics
-3. The Republic of South Africa (RSA) case
-4. The Turkey case
-5. The RSA and Turkey cases compared
-6. Impressions for discussion based on RSA and Turkey
Are horizontal mergers and vertical integration a problem?, by Simon PILSBURY, Sissy MÃœLLER (Belgium), Andrew MEANEY (United Kingdom)
-1. Introduction
-2. Overview of the rail freight market
-3. Framework for competition assessments
-4. Horizontal mergers
-5. Vertical mergers
-6. Conglomerate mergers
-7. Conclusions and areas for debate
List of Participants