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Milwaukee sues fire truck makers; alleges price-fixing
The City of Milwaukee is fighting fire truck manufacturers, alleging the country's three largest companies are price-fixing prices.
MILWAUKEE - The City of Milwaukee is fighting fire truck manufacturers, alleging the country's three largest companies are price-fixing prices.
Fire truck lawsuit
What we know:
Milwaukee is one of many cities saying the companies making fire trucks and a trade group are colluding to inflate their prices. The lawsuit states a pumper truck in the mid-2010s was less than $500,000. Now, the lawsuit says it costs $1 million.
Milwaukee filed the lawsuit in February, but it has been combined with cities across the country – all in front of the federal judge in Green Bay. They are suing the following companies:
- Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh
- Rev Group, Brookfield
- Rosenbauer America, South Dakota
The lawsuit also targets the trade group, Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association.
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The lawsuit alleges the manufacturers used the trade group to collude and share nonpublic information. The lawsuit says the cost of ladder trucks have more than doubled since the 2010s.
A U.S. Senate hearing looked at rising costs and a backlog of years to get a new fire truck.
What they're saying:
"We are facing a crisis across the United States that’s been building for close to 20 years. And the consequences have been dire. Too many cities and towns are asking their firefighters to operate with old, broken-down or even non-existent fire apparatus," said Edward Kelly, General President of the International Association of Firefighters.
"The cost to make fire trucks, like other heavy equipment, climbed substantially in recent years due to supply chain and labor disruptions across industries, while material costs in the fire truck industry remain high," said Dan Meyer of Pierce Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Oshkosh.
Fire truck manufacturing times
Dig deeper:
The companies say they have ramped up production and cut delivery times. Rev Group officials say they now deliver rigs in two years.
"We know that the prices and lead times for fire trucks are higher today than in the past. Our entire industry has been challenged by a dramatic cost inflation and unprecedented federal stimulus-driven spike in demand, significant supply chain disruptions and the contraction of skilled labor workforce," said Mike Virnig of Rev Group.
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FOX6 News asked all three companies and the trade group to respond to this story. None have replied.
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The Source: Information in this post was provided by court filings tied to the lawsuit associated with this case.