Belgian postal/rail plan raises concerns

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 7/1/2000

The Belgian Postal Service and ABX Logistics, the package-delivery division of the Belgian National Railway, have announced plans to form a joint venture this fall. Courier organizations, including the Belgian Courier Association and the European Express Association (EEA), have expressed alarm at the potential anti-competitive implications of the plan. Both groups strongly oppose the deal on the grounds that it would allow the postal monopoly to use taxpayers' money to subsidize its package-delivery business, which competes with private enterprise.

EEA, whose members include DHL Worldwide Express, United Parcel Service, FedEx Express, and the Netherlands' TNT Post Group (itself a public/private joint venture), called the proposed merger "a wedding of dinosaurs."

As European Union countries prepare for postal deregulation, more such arrangements are likely. Other European postal services, including those of the United Kingdom and Germany, have acquired numerous parcel and logistics-service firms throughout Europe. And a similar agreement between the French National Railway, the French Postal Service, and private express company Geodis is on the drawing board.

The European Commission is closely monitoring ventures by liberalized rail and postal monopolies for possible illegal use of public funds to finance anti-competitive activities. According to the EEA, the commission has launched an informal investigation into state aid received by the Belgian post office and railroad.