Core & Main, Ferguson, Frontline Named in PVC Price Collusion Lawsuit - Modern Distribution Management

Core & Main, Ferguson, Frontline Named in PVC Price Collusion Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit alleges that leading PVC pipe manufacturers exploited supply chain disruptions to fix prices and overcharge customers.
PVC Pipe

On Aug. 23, a class action lawsuit was filed alleging that some leading PVC pipe manufacturers exploited supply chain disruptions to fix prices and overcharge their customers for PVC municipal water and PVC electrical conduit pipes.

Three major PVC pipe distributors — Core & Main, Ferguson and Frontline Waterworks, were named as co-conspirators.

The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturers and above-listed co-conspirators “conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize” the price of PVC pipe in the United States by coordinating price increases via OPIS – a paid commodity pricing service that publishes daily prices and market trends.

“It is well known that municipal PVC water pipe pricing has remained stickier than underlying PVC resin prices,” Baird’s Industrial Distribution research analysts said in a flash news update.

The lawsuit named several entities as defendants, including:

  1. Ten leading PVC pipe manufacturers, which control the majority of the wholesale market for PVC municipal water pipes and PVC electrical conduit in the U.S.: Atkore, Cantex, Diamond Plastics, IPEX, JM Eagle, National Pipe and Plastics, Otter Tail, Prime Conduit, Southern Pipe, and Westlake.
  2. Information exchange firm OPIS, which offers a reporting service for pricing and market intelligence in various industries (including PVC pipe) to paying subscribers.

The suit alleges that the above parties entered into an agreement, “at least as early as January 1, 2021 to exchange price signaling statements and competitively sensitive information” through OPIS with the purpose of “coordinating supra-competitive price for PVC pipes and effect of generate historic profit margins.”

A figure presented in the lawsuit, shown below, compares the actual PVC pipe prices (in blue) to the prices buyers would have paid in a market free of the alleged price collusion (in red, listed as “but-for”).

Source: United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

MDM will continue to monitor this situation as it develops.

Related Posts

Share this article

About the Author
Recommended Reading
Leave a Reply

Leave a Comment

Sign Up for the MDM Update Newsletter

The MDM update newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!

2

articles left

Want more Premium content from MDM?

Subscribe today and get:

  • New issues twice each month
  • Unlimited access to mdm.com, including 10+ years of archived data
  • Current trends analysis, market data and economic updates
  • Discounts on select store products and events

Subscribe to continue reading

MDM Premium Subscribers get:

  • Unlimited access to MDM.com
  • 1 year digital subscription, with new issues twice a month
  • Trends analysis, market data and quarterly economic updates
  • Deals on select store products and events

1

article
left

You have one free article remaining

Subscribe to MDM Premium to get unlimited access. Your subscription includes:

  • Two new issues a month
  • Access to 10+ years of archived data on mdm.com
  • Quarterly economic updates, trends analysis and market data
  • Store and event discounts

To continue reading, you must be an MDM Premium subscriber.

Join other distribution executives who use MDM Premium to optimize their business. Our insights and analysis help you enter the right new markets, turbocharge your sales and marketing efforts, identify business partners that help you scale, and stay ahead of your competitors.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.