Lawsuit alleges price gouging by world's vehicle shippers

There may be a reason behind the high cost of new vehicle destination charges – a new lawsuit filed in federal court claims that the world's largest auto shippers joined forced in a price fixing scheme.

A civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 24 alleges that several major import-vehicle shippers took part in a scheme to "fix, raise, maintain and/or stabilize prices" during the five-year span from 2008 to 2012.

Companies named in the suit include Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co.; Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Wallenius Lines; Nippon Yusen K.K. and NYK Line Inc. The carriers are believed to control about 70 percent of the world's vehicle shipments.

According to the suit, which is seeking class-action status, the average vehicle shipping price increased from $350 to $410 between 2008 and 2012. It is believed that the companies engaged in pricing gouging to help off-set losses stemming from the global economic meltdown.

The companies say they are aware of the lawsuit, but aren't talking much otherwise.

"I can confirm that we are aware of the civil class-action lawsuit that has been filed against a number of car carriers, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics included," Anna Larsson, a spokeswoman for the shipping company's logistics arm, told Automotive News. "We are also aware that when regulatory investigations of an industry have been started in the USA, it is basically routine that civil class actions follow."

Governments in Europe, Japan and the United States have launched investigations into the matter.