Auto Parts Price Fixing Scheme Probe Expands

By Cornelius Nunev


Numerous executives of the Furukawa Company are facing prison time for their positions in a price fixing scheme that took place for almost ten years across various continents. The company seems to have been trying to illegally set the market in numerous nations.

Jail sentence for crimes

The electrical part of an auto depends quite a bit on the wiring harness. This is why price fixing the harness with other countries got the Furukawa Electric Business into so much trouble. The company was working with many businesses to make sure there was a fixed price, according to the Boston Globe, driv-ing up the prices of passenger cars and replacement parts. Since many automak-ers use Furukawa, it made a large impact on the industry. Many executives have been convicted for the crime.

The investigation has shown that the price fixing was way being done across the world rather than just in one nation. This was after three executives of Furukawa's American division pleaded guilty and two of the three that pleaded guilty settled with $20,000 in fines and 15 months and one year and one day prison sentences, as reported by AutoBlog. According to the Boston Globe, Furukawa paid $200 million to the Justice Department in fines already as well. The fines do not appear to be enough to cover over a decade of crime.

20 suppliers across four continents

The investigation to the Furukawa price fixing scheme, as reported by Crain's Detroit Business, is expanding to more countries beyond Japan and the United States. Raids have been carried out and subpoenas issued to 19 other suppliers across six various sectors of the automobile market in nations on four con-tinents.

The only result so far is the fine against Furukawa in The United States, plus the conviction of three of its executives. Officials are looking into Furukawa and other companies' activities in Asia, Europe and Australia as well as the United States

Unfortunately common

Though price fixing, where businesses collude to keep prices of goods high, is recognized as among the worst sins in business ethics, it does take place in automobile industry and related services. As reported by Reuters, officials from Britain's Office of Fair Trade are investigating the commercial vehicle divisions of Volvo, Scania and Mercedes-Benz. A raid was carried out at Mercedes' headquarters in the U.K., and European Union authorities are in-vestigating all three.

Gas stations are often cited in textbooks as the classic example of how price fixing occurs. As reported by The Detroit News, the managers of several gasoline stations near Madison Heights, Mich., near the beginning of this year conspired to keep costs high in Feb. and March. The two managers plus three oth-ers pleaded guilty recently to charges of violating Michigan's antitrust laws, with sentencing for all five to be imposed in January.




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