An Empirical Analysis on the Price Effects of Fuel Surcharge Collusion in Air Cargo Industry

Abstract

: This paper estimates the effects of Air Cargo companies' fuel surcharge collusion on the final airfreight prices. We show that the final prices have not been generally higher than the 'but-for prices,' and even been significantly lower for some companies. We analyze the possible reasons for such findings, and conclude that the collusion on fuel surcharges has not been successful due to the oil price hike in the cartel period. We also find that the oil price elasticities of fuel surcharges are significantly lower than 1. 손양훈 ․ 정진욱• 730 •