By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• The City of Allentown, Pennsylvania has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit alleging that fire truck manufacturers formed a monopoly that inflated prices and delayed deliveries for fire departments.
• The suit names private equity firm American Industrial Partners and several fire apparatus makers as defendants.
• Allentown joins other cities, including Los Angeles, Milwaukee, San Diego and Portland, in similar legal actions.
• The complaint seeks to break up the alleged monopoly and recover unspecified damages for the city.
ALLENTOWN, PA — The City of Allentown filed a federal antitrust lawsuit April 22 alleging that a private equity firm and a group of fire truck manufacturers created a de facto monopoly that has driven up costs and prolonged delivery times for custom fire apparatus, officials said.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names American Industrial Partners and subsidiaries as well as multiple fire truck makers as defendants in the suit. Allentown accuses the companies of acquiring smaller manufacturers, consolidating operations and eliminating competition to suppress supply and impose higher prices.
Allentown alleges that between 2021 and 2024 the cost of a custom aerial fire truck rose from about $1.46 million to roughly $2 million, while waiting periods for apparatus deliveries lengthened significantly, hampering fire department fleet readiness, the suit says.
The city is seeking a federal court order to dismantle the alleged monopoly and unspecified monetary damages as part of its antitrust claims. The lawsuit comes after other municipal governments, including those in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, San Diego and Portland, sued some of the same manufacturers earlier this year.
The case remains in its early stages, with no trial date set and no rulings issued.