In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Diana Moss, Vice President and Director of Competition Policy at the Progressive Policy Institute, urged lawmakers to repeal the antitrust exemption in the Shipping Act that has consolidated the maritime shipping industry, essentially creating an oligopoly.
Moss warned that already the top four carriers went from controlling ~30% of the market in 2002 to ~60% today, with three major alliances controlling over 80% of capacity and 90% of U.S. trade, causing transportation costs to skyrocket. These transportation costs directly go into the costs of goods, including 13% of food prices, 16% of lumber, 8% of textiles.
During the hearing, Moss also called out the Department of Justice for failing to meet to moment during other antitrust enforcement measures, including weak settlements in the HP-Juniper, Live Nation-Ticketmaster, and RealPage cases.
