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THE US
Justice Department said it has opened an investigation
of potential price fixing by coastal-freight shipping
lines.
The
announcement, which didn’t name any carriers, came as
three maritime operators said that they had received
subpoenas, had been told to expect them or turned over
records.
Alexander & Baldwin Inc., the parent of Matson
Navigation, said it expected to get a subpoena for
documents “related to domestic ocean carriage.”
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Horizon Lines Inc. said
federal agents armed with a search warrant raided its
headquarters Thursday, while Crowley Maritime Corp. said
it gave information to US investigators.
“The
antitrust division is investigating the possibility of
anti-competitive practices in the coastal
freight-shipping industry,” said Justice Department
spokesman Gina Talamona.
Crowley,
Horizon and Alexander & Baldwin all said they were
cooperating with investigators.
The
Justice Department’s antitrust enforcers often obtain
subpoenas from grand juries when they investigate
allegations of criminal price fixing.
S&P
statement
STANDARD
& Poor’s said the inquiry hasn’t changed its ratings or
its “stable” outlook on Horizon’s debt.
“We will
continue to closely monitor developments,” said S&P
analyst Funmi Afonja, who is based in
New York.
Crowley
will “cooperate with investigators and is confident that
it has acted appropriately,” spokesman Mark Miller said
in an e-mail. “Neither
Crowley,
nor its employees, have been identified as targets of
this investigation.”
Horizon,
Alexander & Baldwin’s Matson and Jacksonville,
Florida-based Crowley competes in the US-flag shipping
market controlled by a 1920 federal law known as the
Jones Act. Bloomberg
The
statute requires carriers sailing between US ports to be
US-owned and use US-built ships with crews that are at
least 75 percent US citizens. Bloomberg |
