practices cited in AFMS’s complaints “are wholly consistent
with lawful independent behavior” by FedEx and UPS as
each company, faced with the same market developments
and challenges, acted in a parallel fashion that was as expected as it is legal, according to a response filed last November,
three months after AFMS filed its initial complaint.
The carriers also contend their policies don’t explicitly
state they are terminating their relationships with third-
party consultants, but that they would continue dealing
with the third parties “at the discretion of the individual
company’s management.”
The reply adds that AFMS has no legal standing to bring
charges of antitrust violations, noting that federal antitrust
laws are applicable only to companies “whose alleged
injuries flow from harm” in a restrained market. The law
does not apply to consultants who, in the case of AFMS, do
not purchase shipping services from either of the parcel
giants, according to the carrier reply.
GROWING HOSTILITIES
Parcel consultants, many of whom are former FedEx, UPS,
and DHL Express executives, have built a cottage industry
using their knowledge to guide shipper customers through
the often-byzantine world of parcel contract negotiations. For
years, FedEx, UPS, and, when it had a U.S. presence, DHL, co-
existed with consultants in a reasonably amicable manner.
However, the carriers began chafing at the consultants’ grow-
ing role in negotiating lower rates on their customers’ behalf.
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