Lobby grows for conference abolition

SHIPPING LINES will not suffer from the abolition of the liner conference system, declares a report to the European Commission (EC) by consultants, ICF Forecasting, leading to the UK Freight Transport Association (FTA) calling for this “outdated system” to be outlawed ASAP. The ICF report concluded: “Ending the cartels will not harm them. Free competition is the name of the game in almost every market in the world. Why should it not be in shipping?”