Settlement reached in equine air freight price-fixing proceeding
A settlement has been reached with the International Racehorse Transport New Zealand Partnership (IRT Partnership) in a price fixing case arising from an arrangement between IRT Partnership and its competitor for the provision of domestic and trans-Tasman equine airfreight services.
The Commission filed proceedings seeking a pecuniary penalty against IRT Partnership in October 2019. However, it became clear that the impact of COVID-19 on IRT Partnership’s business meant that it would not be able to pay any such penalty.
The Commission and IRT Partnership agreed to seek declarations from the Court that IRT Partnership breached the provisions of the Commerce Act.
The proceedings concerned a long-standing joint venture arrangement between IRT Partnership and its competitor for the provision of domestic and trans-Tasman equine airfreight services. The joint venture arrangements offered benefits over time including the pooling of skills and resources for logistics. However, the arrangements also included a profit-sharing mechanism that controlled the prices charged to customers for equine airfreight services from October 2009. Those arrangements remained in place until October 2018.
Today, the High Court released its judgment ( 1.9 MB, PDF ) explaining the prohibitions on cartel conduct and how competitors can lawfully collaborate under the Commerce Act.