A second lawsuit has been filed against fire truck manufacturers alleging that they have fixed prices, according to BizTimes Milwaukee.
The city of Augusta, Maine, filed a class action lawsuit against fire truck manufacturers Oshkosh Corp., Pierce Manufacturing, Brookfield-based REV Group, Rosenbauer America LLC and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association.
In August, the city of La Crosse filed its own class action complaint.
Both lawsuits argue that REV Group, South Dakota-based Rosenbauer America and Oshkosh Corp. are responsible for increasing fire truck prices and “perpetuating backlogs.” The three companies produce between 70% and 80% of all fire trucks in the U.S. market.
The suit argues that fire truck prices have more than doubled from $1 million in the mid-2010s to more than $2 million now. The complaint alleges these organizations are contributing to a scheme to fix and raise the prices of fire trucks, causing harm to municipalities across the country.
Further, the lawsuits allege the manufacturers are supported in their “conspiracy” through FAMA. Each company allegedly submits non-public economic data to FAMA, which is then sent to a consulting company and to FAMA members.
The issue has also drawn national attention from politicians. Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission had opened an inquiry into the fire truck industry.
The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Management have also launched a series of hearings on the country’s “fire apparatus crisis.”
Dan Meyer, vice president of sales for Pierce Manufacturing, told the subcommittee that making fire trucks requires hours of specialized work. The company’s lead times have been exacerbated by supply chain disruptions and inflation, he said.
“Demand in the fire truck industry increased to historic levels coming out of the pandemic,” said Meyer. “We saw global supply challenges and significant inflation that impacted both lead times and prices. When there is a longer lead time to produce fire trucks, the price at the time of ordering must factor in cost increases over that longer period. As supply chains were strained and costs increased during the pandemic, our customers took a hit, and we did too. Now, the rate of price increases has slowed significantly as inflation has leveled, and demand and lead times have begun to normalize.”
