'Only by achieving mutual trust between the players will genuine service structures and fair cost compensatory packages prevail.'

摘要

In less than eight months liner shipping conferences in European trades will have been abolished. On October 17, 2008, European Commission legislation will end anti-trust immunity for these bastions of the liner shipping industry which have been at its heart for almost a century. So what impact, if any, will this have on the structure of the industry that we know?. After all, ocean carriers and analysts have for many years maintained that freight rates and contracting have been determined more by supply/demand balances and service levels than by being able to band together and offer common pricing through liner conference tariffs.