In Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1, the president blamed the surge in inflation partially on companies that operate in a market with little competition, like the shipping industry.
“We see it happening with ocean carriers moving goods in and out of America,” he said. “During the pandemic, these foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000% and made record profits. Tonight, I’m announcing a crackdown on these companies overcharging American businesses and consumers.”
It seems that the biggest issues are the three main shipping alliances, where Asia- and Europe-based rivals share vessel capacity on major trade lanes and are able to evade US antitrust laws. The World Shipping Council’s argued that “market dynamics are influencing prices — not carrier alliances.”
The US Department of Justice has been pushing Congress for decades to dispose of the antitrust immunity, saying that it undermined a free-market economy.
Source: gobankingrates.com