EU approves Maersk/P&O Nedlloyd rail venture
European Union regulators have extended for three years anti-trust approval for a pioneering rail freight joint venture between Maersk Sealand and P&O Nedlloyd, saying it had broken the monopoly of state-owned railways for the transport of containers between north European ports and inland cargo terminals. (4/19/2002)
The European Commission, the EU’s executive, said the joint venture, European Rail Shuttle (ERS), which carries containers for its parent shipping lines, has the potential to distort competition but this will be outweighed by increased rivalry in the European rail freight sector.
The joint venture has broadened its coverage since it first won anti-trust clearance in 1998, from its Rotterdam hub to other northern European ports including Hamburg and Bremen/Bremerhaven and has added new inland terminals in Germany, Poland, Hungary and other countries.
