SINGAPORE/DUESSELDORF/BENGALURU (March 22): The U.S. Justice Department has ordered top executives from several container shipping lines to testify in an antitrust investigation into an industry that is the backbone of global trade, the companies said on Wednesday. Moller-Maersk, Germany's Hapag Lloyd, Taiwan-based Evergreen, Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) said their executives were among those who had been subpoenaed. The subpoenas were issued during a meeting of top container shipping executives last week in San Francisco. Maersk Line and Hapag Lloyd confirmed that they were issued subpoenas related to a probe into the container shipping industry. Alliances in the spotlightThe Justice Department has raised concerns over possible anti-competitive behaviour by container shippers with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), after shippers sought approval to form the OCEAN and THE alliances.

Source: The Edge Markets March 22, 2017 11:48 UTC