Parcel firms guilty of price fixing: massive fines all round

These exchanges, which took place between September 2004 and September 2010, took place mainly at meetings held in the context of an instance of a trade association (TLF), which was also sanctioned. The discussions were secret and were not subject to any official record.

Deutsche Bahn AG blew the whistle on the cartel in late 2008, regulators said.

In calculating penalties, the Authority took into account the duration of the practices, their severity and the damage caused to the economy including the fact that SMEs, which lack sufficient bargaining power, were the main victims of agreement.

The full list of fined firms is Alloin, BMVirolle, Chronopost, Exapaq (now France DPD) Ciblex Dachser France, DHL Express France, FedEx Express France, Gefco, Geodis, GLS France (Royal Mail), Heppner, Lambert and Valletta XP France, Norbert Dentressangle Distribution, Normatrans, Jewel-Schenker (Schenker became France), TNT Express France, Transport Henri Ducros, Ziegler France.