§ Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to publish the report by officials on the inquiry into liner shipping freight rates; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RidleyThe report was published today and copies have been placed in the Library.
The report was commissioned in response to complaints from British exporters that they were being disadvantaged in overseas markets by disparities between the levels of deep sea freight rates available to them and those available to their European competitors.
The study has established that, while significant disparities existed in 1984, this was by no means the case in all foreign trades, and that the problem tended to be more widespread for conventional cargo than for containerised cargo.
These rate disparities are attributable to higher United Kingdom port costs and to the much sharper competition in the supply of liner services which undoubtedly exists on the continent compared with the United Kingdom. This enhanced competition stems largely from the greater participation of independent shipping lines, and the strength of the freight forwarding industry in mainland Europe.
The report draws attention to the important role for Government in helping to ensure that liner trades to and from the United Kingdom remain open and in maintaining the scope for independent lines to offer fair and effective competition to conference lines. It recognises the major technological innovation undertaken by shipping lines, which has been of widespread benefit. The report encourages a wider role for freight forwarders and suggests steps which shippers themselves can take to control their transport costs and so help win vital orders overseas.
I hope that the report will now lead to further discussion and consideration by all sides of the industry—shippers, forwarders and the lines themselves. Liner shipping worldwide is in a dynamic phase of its development and I share the study team's conclusion that United Kingdom liner shipping companies are well-placed to meet the challenges facing them and to respond positively to their customers' requirements.