JCP lawmakers lead to a ban on accident-luring cost cutting

The Fair Trade Commission decided on January 20 to prohibit shippers from forcing hauliers to offer cheaper prices, saying that such an act is a violation of the anti-monopoly law.

The unfair trade against subcontractors is caused by the fact that principal contractors have to impose a lower freight price on subcontractors because shippers set an extremely low price in the first place.

Japanese Communist Party Nishiyama Tokiko has long argued at the Upper House Committee on Economy and Industry that the forced price-discount by cargo owners is a cause of the long driving hours causing fatigue, which only increases the possibility of a truck accident.

In the Lower House, JCP Shiokawa Tetsuya has also argued that shippers are responsible for the industry's unfair trade.

Noma Koji of the Japan Trucking Association said, "As we said in the Lower House committee, the low freight price is due to the unfair deal on price setting between cargo owners and transportation companies. So I'm very glad to hear that the anti-monopoly law will be applied. It's good for a fair trade." (end)