Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd. today confirmed
that the European Commission has fined Panalpina along with
a number of other major freight forwarding companies for
antitrust violations related to isolated air freight
surcharges for certain European trade lanes. The penalty
notice to the industry concerns an exchange of information
during very limited periods of time prior to 2008.
Panalpina will analyze the Commission's decision given its
right to appeal the decision to the European General Court.
The Group has so far made no provision for the penalty of
EUR 46.5 million as it was not in a position to predict the
outcome of this proceeding and to assess its financial
exposure.
It is Panalpina's position, which is supported by
independent economic evidence, that the infringements
likely did not affect prices paid by Panalpina's customers.
Proceedings in other jurisdictions
In November 2011, a U.S. court approved Panalpina's
settlement with the US Department of Justice Antitrust
Division. The settlements closed investigations related to
the same air freight surcharges in relation to U.S. trade
lanes. In 2011, Panalpina also completed settlement
negotiations with the New Zealand Commerce Commission and
the agreed penalty was approved by the competent court.
Identical antitrust proceedings in Canada and Australia
were dropped.
Two antitrust proceedings are still ongoing in Switzerland
and Brazil. They are also part of the coordinated
investigation of several competition authorities against
various freight forwarding companies. In Switzerland
Panalpina has signed a settlement agreement which is still
subject to the formal approval of the Swiss Competition
Commission and has booked a related provision of CHF 3.2
million.
State-of-the-art compliance structure in place
In the past years, Panalpina has successfully built a
state-of-the-art compliance structure aimed at ensuring
rigorous adherence to competition and other pertinent laws
throughout the world. Based on its Code of Conduct, the
company is providing both in-person and online training to
its employees on a global basis. The company's Ethics and
Compliance Department is staffed with dedicated personnel
stationed throughout the world.
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