United Parcel Service ("UPS") and FedEx Corp. are under scrutiny from the Department of Justice in connection with claims from an antitrust lawsuit that alleges that they conspired to refuse to deal with shipping consultants. AFMS LLC, a third-party consulting firm, brought a lawsuit against UPS and FedEx in August after the two companies implemented similar policies that prevented their customers from working with, or otherwise sharing any information with, third-party shipping consultants. It has been reported that these shipping consultants have historically reduced costs incurred by shippers. AFMS argues that in practice this policy-preventing shippers the ability to work with third-party shipping consultants-is a form of price fixing. This investigation highlights a recent trend at the DOJ of initiating investigations into practices challenged in private lawsuits.
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