Brussels, 17 February 2022 – European businesses continue to experience rising container shipping costs, a record low level of reliability and reduced choice of services. Massive freight rate hikes over the last 18 months have led to damaging inflation and increases in the Union’s costs of living as recently identified by the OECD. The profiteering of ocean shipping carriers resulting from their capacity management strategy allowed them to acquire the market power and financial war chest that they are now using to vertically integrate, increase rates and drive out independent freight forwarders in the downstream market. New discriminatory conduct towards freight forwarders, the key organiser of service delivery across all modes of transport in door-to-door operations, will ultimately disadvantage shippers and end-consumers because of restricted choice in services and higher rates. (....)