The European Commission said it is probing container-shipping companies for possibly fixing prices. The antitrust regulator is looking into how these firms announce their price increases. The method of making the announcements raised suspicions that the firms may have colluded with each other to hike the prices of some international trading routes.

A person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that there 14 firms from Europe and Asia that were targeted to be probed. The Commission said the firms had been making regular public announcements of their planned price hikes since 2009. The public notices are typically done in a successive manner, just a few weeks before the price increases take effect, the regulator said.

In a statement, the Commission said, “This practice may allow the companies to signal future price intentions to each other and may harm competition and customers.”

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