THERE are two incompatible but widespread views on today's liner shipping industry. One is that it is a highly efficient money-making machine that is increasingly dominated by a few players, to the

detriment of cargo owners and, ultimately, consumers. The other is that, despite continual efficiency gains, unregulated competition and resulting overcapacity prevent the carriers from ever seeing sustained returns that could justify their huge investments.

The Global Shippers' Forum (GSF), of course, adheres to the first point of view. So, it is not surprising to see that the body representing cargo interests has welcomed the recent decision of the European Competition Commission to closely monitor the new giant P3 container shipping alliance for compliance with EU competition rules.

GSF secretary general Chris Welsh said: "Effective monitoring of P3 compliance with EU competition rules is absolutely essential in view of the unprecedented market power of the world's three largest lines that collectively represent over 40 per cent market share in the world's main liner trades, including over 46 per cent market share in the Asia-Europe market. If there are any signs of a reduction in service quality or elimination in effective competition between the P3 lines and in the liner market generally, we would expect immediate action by the European Commission against the P3 lines, including the imposition of appropriate sanctions for competition abuses."