Investigation into a capacity sharing agreement between P&O Ferries and DFDS

The CMA has accepted commitments, under the Competition Act 1998, offered by P&O Ferries Holdings Limited and DFDS A/S that address the CMA’s competition concerns regarding a capacity sharing agreement for freight on the Dover-Calais route.

From:
Competition and Markets Authority
Published
12 November 2021
Last updated
5 August 2022 — See all updates
Case type:
CA98 and civil cartels
Case state:
Closed
Market sector:
Transport
Outcome:
CA98 - commitments
Opened:
11 November 2021

Case Timetable

Date Action
5 August 2022 CMA commitments decision published and case closed
July 2022 to August 2022 Consideration of consultation responses and decision on whether to accept commitments
13 June 2022 to 4 July 2022 Commitments consultation period
13 June 2022 Consultation opened on commitments proposed by DFDS A/S and P&O Ferries Holdings Limited
April 2022 to June 2022 Initial investigation into the agreement continuing, including further review and analysis of information gathered
March 2022 Decision to proceed with the investigation
November 2021 to March 2022 Initial investigation: information gathering, including issue of formal or informal information requests. CMA analysis and review of information gathered
11 November 2021 Investigation opened

Decision to accept binding commitments

On 5 August 2022, the CMA published its decision to accept commitments from DFDS A/S and P&O Ferries Holdings Limited that address the CMA’s competition concerns regarding a capacity sharing agreement for driver-accompanied freight shipments on the Dover-Calais route.

On 13 June 2022 the CMA announced that it was giving notice of its intention to accept commitments in this investigation, and consulted on that. In the notice the CMA explained that the agreement provides a ‘turn up and go’ function for freight customers at the Dover and Calais ports, allowing them to take the next available ferry regardless of which of the two operators they booked with. The agreement aims to reduce overall journey times and congestion at ports for freight customers, while also potentially providing broader benefits for supply bottlenecks and the wider economy.

To address the CMA’s concerns that certain aspects of the agreement might prevent, restrict or distort competition, the companies offered to commit to the CMA to:

  • not agree with one another the number of sailings that each company operates;

  • put strict limits on the number of sailings that they may cancel; and

  • amend the agreement to make clear that it does not fix the amount of freight customers that either company may carry.

Having carefully considered the representations it received from interested third parties in response to its notice of its intention to accept the commitments, the CMA decided to accept such commitments, subject to an additional obligation on the parties: the parties agreed to appoint a monitoring trustee to oversee compliance with the commitment regarding the cancellation of sailings.

Formal acceptance of commitments by the CMA brings the investigation to an end, with no decision being made as to whether or not the Competition Act 1998 has been infringed.

Consultation on commitments

On 13 June 2022, the CMA published a notice of intention to accept commitments offered by DFDS A/S and P&O Ferries Holdings Limited and invited representations from interested third parties. The CMA will consider any representations made in response to the consultation before making a final decision on whether or not to accept the proposed commitments.

Case Information

11 November 2021: The CMA launched an investigation under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 into an agreement between P&O Ferries Holdings Limited and DFDS A/S to share capacity with respect to driver-accompanied freight shipments on the Dover-Calais route.

Notes

  • The investigation is under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998.
  • The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any party under investigation. Not all cases result in the CMA issuing a statement of objections.
  • The CMA will consider any representations it receives before any decision is taken as to whether competition law has in fact been infringed.
  • Further detail of the CMA’s investigation procedures in Competition Act 1998 cases is available in CMA8.
  • Changes to the timing of original entries in the case timetable will be made if the estimated timing changes.

Personal data

The CMA may collect, use and share personal data for its investigations, including investigations under the Competition Act 1998. This includes processing personal data for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. You can find more information about how the CMA handles personal information in the CMA’s Personal Information Charter.

Contacts

Published 12 November 2021
Last updated 5 August 2022 + show all updates

  1. Commitments decision published.

  2. Consultation on commitments published.

  3. Update to case timetable published.

  4. First published.

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