Dhe name Amazon does not appear in the key points of the reform of the postal law. Nevertheless, it is clear who the passage for stricter competition controls is aimed at: the American online giant, which is increasingly pushing into the parcel market with its own shipping logistics. The Internet retailer is changing from a major customer of the delivery services – first and foremost Deutsche Post DHL – to a competitor. His vans have long since not only taken orders from his own customers, but the logistics partner companies also transport packages from online retailers who offer on the Amazon Marketplace.
If the Federal Ministry of Economics has its way, Amazon will have to adjust to stricter rules for this business in the future. The planned new standard is aimed at companies that occupy a dominant position in a “neighboring market” – in the case of Amazon, online trading. If there is a risk that such a company “transfers its market power to a postal market in a way that distorts competition”, there is a “need for regulation”, according to the reform proposal. In these cases, the Federal Network Agency can intervene to protect competition in the postal markets from “abusive behaviour”.
It remains unclear how high Amazon’s share of the parcel market is. Amazon does not publish any figures on the quantities transported via its own logistics in this country. The Federal Network Agency has located the market share somewhere between 5 and 15 percent. In other EU countries and in the United States, there are already significantly more. And the Monopolies Commission expects the Amazon delivery network to continue to grow in Germany.
“Amazon stimulates competition”
What rankles the competition is well received by most customers. Amazon’s delivery has a stellar reputation for speed and reliability, and the wheels work mostly smoothly. “Amazon stimulates competition,” said the chairman of the monopoly commission, Jürgen Kühling, of the FAZ. With its high quality requirements for the established delivery services, it contributes to better service, while at the same time its own delivery network promotes price competition. In principle, however, Kühling also sees the possibility that Amazon could use its market power on the online trading platforms in the parcel business. “That should be closely monitored.” But in case of doubt, general competition law already offers opportunities to intervene in the market.
Amazon rejects the proposed new standard as an unnecessary and consumer-damaging market barrier. “The proposed regulation against a transfer of market power seems to focus more on maintaining the existing structures on the postal markets than on further stimulating competition,” says a statement to das Ministry of Economy. More surprising than this line of defense is that the Federal Cartel Office, which observes Amazon’s market power and business conduct very critically, is jumping to the group’s aid.
President Andreas Mundt warned against unnecessarily restricting the competition. He not only referred to the strong position of DHL on the parcel market, but also on Swiss Post’s dominant position in the mail business. It would be a “wrong signal” to only regulate Amazon’s parcel shipping, “while DHL, which is already a leader in the parcel sector, is being allowed to operate in neighboring markets despite Deutsche Post’s market dominance,” Mundt told the FAZ
There are efficient instruments in German and European antitrust law for controlling the large digital platforms. “I don’t see that a special rule is even necessary here. In any case, regulation must not only affect Amazon,” said the President of the Cartel Office. Such considerations could also concern Deutsche Post and explain why they are also questioning the planned expansion of regulation. Already with the general competition law and the new regulations for the control of market-dominant digital platforms, it is possible to protect the market from “price war strategies” and other abuses, she argues to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The Post therefore advocates a move in the opposite direction, namely “explicitly removing the parcel market for commercial senders from the competition control of the Postal Act”. The group believes that it is practically impossible for new providers or one of the top dogs to stir up the market, at least for the next few years. All parcel services simply lack the staff to expand their capacities so much that distortions of competition are to be feared.