August 2 - The UK's Road Haulage Association (RHA) has sought legal advice and intends to pursue the case for compensation from the truck manufacturers that were identified as being involved in a coordinated truck price fixing cartel.
HLPFI reported on July 21 that the European Commission had found truck manufacturers - MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF - guilty of breaking EU antitrust rules, by colluding for 14 years on truck pricing and passing on the costs of compliance with stricter emission rules to customers.
The RHA's board of directors met to discuss the fine and decided that the association should progress compensation claims on behalf of its members.
"This is a serious issue for the haulage industry - both for hauliers in general and our members in particular. The road transport sector works to extremely tight margins and the truck itself is the largest capital investment our members make. Therefore they are looking for compensation from the manufacturers," said RHA national chairman, Jim French.
"The process for such a large number of interested parties is complex but we have been in discussions with our legal advisors so that we can progress the matter further. I wish to make it clear that the RHA will not, itself, be benefitting from any financial action."
MAN has been excluded from the fine since it blew the whistle on the cartel.
