Parcel Firms Fined 673.3 Million Euro In France

A number of companies providing delivery services, including units of Deutsche Post AG’s DHL, FedEx Corp. and TNT Express NV were fined 673.3 million euro by France’s competition watchdog for colluding to increase prices.

Geodis SA, owned by French railway company SNCF, received the largest single penalty of 196.1 million euros, while La Poste SA’s Chronopost was fined 99.2 million euros and DHL’s French unit must pay 81.2 million euros, France’s Autorite de la Concurrence said in a statement on its website.

The French competition authority said 20 companies and an industry group coordinated annual rate increases from 2004 and 2010 and 15 of the companies also colluded on a fuel surcharge from 2004 to 2006. Regulators reduced fines for six smaller parcel firms due to financial difficulties.

Tuesday’s penalties include a 44.9 million-euro fine for DPD, also owned by La Poste, while FedEx was fined 17 million euros and TNT was ordered to pay 58.5 million euros, the French authority said.

TNT booked a 50 million-euro provision for the fine last year and has co-operated with the investigation since 2010, the company said in an e-mailed statement. La Poste said it will study the decision before deciding on an appeal. La Poste has had a compliance program since 2011, spokeswoman Stephanie Fraisse said in an e-mail.

Deutsche Bahn AG blew the whistle on the cartel in late 2008, regulators said and Kuehne + Nagel International AG’s Alloin unit came forward with more evidence in 2010.

Deutsche Post spokesman Daniel McGrath said the company received the decision and is reviewing it. SNCF and FedEx didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

France’s antitrust authority is one of Europe’s most active, levying more in cartel fines than the European Commission this year so far. It fined dairy firms 193 million euros in March. The European Commission imposed 364.5 million euros in fines this year.