FIDI and the International Association of Movers (IAM), as representatives of the international moving and relocation industry, have written to the European Commission to demand an immediate start to the review of the European Union’s Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER) for the container shipping industry.

The Regulation exempts container shipping lines from many of the checks and balances of EU competition law and permits them to exchange commercially-sensitive information to manage the number and size of ships deployed and the frequency and timing of sailings on trade routes around the world.

The letter references the increase in the shipping lines’ net profits last year up to a margin of 50% and a net profit of $186 billion, combined with reductions in capacity and poorer reliability. It claims that the Regulation is failing to accommodate major changes in the market. The letter requests that the review of the CBER start immediately so that alternative mechanisms can be fully assessed and agreed.

The letter concludes by saying: “With less than two years until the expiry of the current Regulation, and the continuing turmoil in international European supply chains, we believe this is a reasonable and justified request on behalf of those businesses who have so clearly been disadvantaged by the workings of the current arrangements.”