Following the draft order communicated by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) on January 9th this year, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has today received the JFTCs final cease and desist order together with a surcharge order.
The JFTC states that companies in the car carrying industry, including WWL, in the years 2008 – 2012, restrained competition through jointly agreeing on raising or maintaining rates, thereby breaching the Japanese Antimonopoly Act. For WWL, the surcharge is set at JPY 3,495,710,000, concerns shipment of new cars and is primarily related to trade from Japan to Europe.
In September 2012, the JFTC started an investigation into the car carrier trade practices out of Japan that involved a number of car carrying operators. On January 9 this year, a draft conclusion was provided by the JFTC to the companies concerned. Todays’ final order confirms the draft order.
“WWL is a proponent of fair and open competition and has cooperated fully with the JFTC throughout the investigation,” says Christopher Connor, President & CEO of WWL. “Ethical business practices and full compliance with laws and regulations are cornerstones of our business and we regret any concern caused to customers or employees by our involvement in this investigation.”
