Some economists have echoed those arguments, saying that it is a function of supply and demand.
“I think the spike in tariffs that has occurred during the pandemic is mainly due to an increase in demand for imported goods coupled with delays in ports that functionally act as a reduction in the number of ships operating,” he said. Colin Grabow, a trade analyst. at the Cato Institute.
Daniel B. Maffei, the chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, said in an interview that there was “no doubt” that changes in consumer demand due to Covid had caused a rapid rise in shipping costs. But, he added, “does that mean carriers have to charge that much?”
The commission has never filed an antitrust suit against a carrier. But Mr Maffei noted that “the circumstances are absolutely, totally different now than two years ago. The pandemic has changed everything.”
The shipping industry denies that its alliances have led to price fixing. Thanks to the alliances that shipping carriers are entering into, they can share space by placing some of their own cargo on a partner’s ship. But these agreements specify that companies cannot negotiate their prices, Mr Butler said.
“That’s just not something that happens,” he said.
But some logistics experts say that collaboration between shipping lines has reduced competition and concentrated market power, indirectly giving them more leeway to dictate prices and schedules.
Caitlin Murphy, the chief executive of Global Gateway Logistics, a freight forwarder, said small businesses have been particularly harmed by shipping practices during the pandemic, including when alliances have skipped less profitable ports. Her company had attempted to ship cargo from India to New York, but some carriers avoided New York Port to avoid congestion.
“It reduces the supply of ships available in India, driving up the price,” she said. “So it’s become very difficult to move products around the world.”
