Abstract

This study shows how the World Bank Group’s Markets and Competition Policy Assessment Tool (MCPAT) can help economies identify reform areas that would make government interventions in freight and logistics services more conducive to competition. The study focuses on three case studies among Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries - Peru, Philippines and Vietnam - to illustrate the importance of identifying specific areas for behind-the-border reforms. The analysis focuses on containerized cargo and multimodal transport links between road and maritime transportation, building on primary data collection through novel questionnaires for stakeholders. This study identifies potential competition issues to monitor and makes specific recommendations by country and topic. Potential competition issues include abuse of dominance through exclusionary or discriminatory practices, predominantly in access to multimodal infrastructure and slot allocation along the chain, as well as potential collusive practices in the wholesale segment (for example, among carriers) and in highly specialized services, such as pilotage and towing in port terminals. Furthermore, given the tendency toward (horizontal and vertical) mergers and acquisitions in freight forwarding, it is essential to continue evaluating changes in market structure and the potential impact of these changes on market contestability.