Shippers want price freedom
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/ The British Shippers' Council is to meet Shipping and Aviation Minister Lord Caithness next month to press for Government action to break the power of the shipping lines.
BSC wants a relaxation of shipping regulations so there will be less opportunity for the lines to set prices and therefore raise hauliers' rates, it says.
"We feel that there is no more blood the shipping lines can squeeze out of hauliers," says BSC shipping and air transport manager Chris Welsh.
"Shippers are prepared to pay a fair and competitive price for the services they buy, but they are being overcharged by the shipping lines because they fix the prices", says Welsh.
Low haulage rates are driving down quality standards and are reducing hauliers' ability to invest, he says.