桶裝瓦斯勞務配送中心與公平交易法相關分析

The Joint Distribution Centers in Canister Gas Industry and Fair Trade Law

桶裝瓦斯「勞務配送中心」制度的出現，係過去管制機關液供處因應液化石油氣市場客觀條件改變所為之政策調整結果。其企圖以經營組織改變為手段，以達到規模經濟之效果，並藉由集體合作的制度，獲取勞動成本的節省;另一方面則藉由經營地點的減少，降低店面成本支出，並求得社會安全的保障，基本應受社會之肯定。「配送中心」所受的質疑是，運作後的結果可能使當地的瓦斯價格普遍的提高。不過，本研究利用公平會調查資料，比較參與配送中心瓦斯行的價格與獨立瓦斯行的價格，檢定後發現二者之間並未有顯著的差異。以公平法管制觀點衡量，桶裝瓦斯液化石油氣配送中心的成立、運作，應同時適用結合行為與聯合行為的規範。在結合、聯合行為適用時所涉及的市場範圍界定，相關地理市場之界定，除參考學理的推論之外，實務上似乎可以考量以鄉鎮為地理市場範圍；相關產品市場的界定考慮供需因素之後，似應將液化石油氣定位為獨立之市場，將天然瓦斯排除。更重要的是桶裝瓦斯「配送中心」問題的解決，實應回歸到基本面，由目的主管機關經濟部能源委員會主動規劃，擬定妥善的對策加以處理，不應將液化石油氣配送中心問題的解決全部責由公平交易委員會負責，否則政府部門間的專業化與分工的效果無從實現。

Appearance of the joint distribution centers for canister gases results from the changing conditions in the LPG market. When the corporate organizations are adjusted, not only can the economy of scale in labor utilization be achieved, but also the overall spending is reduced by decreasing the number of business branches. This development is good for our society. However, gas prices may be higher due to the operation of the joint distribution centers. After employing the survey data provided by the Fair Trade Commission to conduct analyses, we find that the prices charged by distribution-center-type gas corporations do not differ significantly from those charged by independent gas corporations. From the regulating point of the Antitrust Law, the establishment and operations of the joint distribution centers for canister LPG should be relevant to the combination and collusion behavior. Concerning to the geographical territory of the market, both suggestions given by academic theories and actual country-and-town units should be considered. After taking factors of demand and supply into account, the LPG market should exclude the natural gas product. Moreover, the Energy Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs, not the Fair Trade Commission, should be responsible for most problems faced by the joint distribution centers for canister gases.