By David Ingram and Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese freight forwarders Yusen
Logistics Co Ltd and "K" Line Logistics Ltd have agreed
to pay a combined $18.9 million in criminal fines for conspiring
to fix fees, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.
The two companies agreed to plead guilty to fixing fuel
surcharges and various security fees on shipments from Japan to
the United States, the department said.
The companies did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
They are among 16 freight forwarding firms which have agreed
to plead guilty. Criminal fines have totaled more than $120
million, the Justice Department said.
Yusen Logistics and "K" Line Logistics executives met and
held other discussions to fix the fees charged to customers of
their air freight business from about September 2002 to November
2007, the department said.
The Justice Department has also gone after shipping
companies for price-fixing. Sea Star and two other companies
have been convicted of price fixing while six people have
pleaded guilty or have been found guilty, the Justice Department
said in January.
In March 2012, the European Commission fined 13 logistics
firms, including UPS, 169 million euros ($225 million)
for price-fixing.
Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook