Brussels, 28/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 January, the European Commission imposed a total of €131,510,000 fines on five groups - Bridgestone, Dunlop Oil & Marine/Continental, Trelleborg, Parker ITR and Manuli - for participating in a cartel for marine hoses between 1986 and 2007. Yokohama also participated in the cartel but was not fined because it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission.
Marine hoses are used to load crude oil from and onto ships. From 1986 to 2007 cartel members fixed prices for marine hoses, allocated bids and markets and exchanged commercially sensitive information. The fines for Bridgestone and Parker ITR were increased by 30% because of their leadership of the cartel. Manuli was granted a 30% reduction of its fine for its cooperation with the investigation under the Commission's leniency programme. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes stated: “For 20 years, this cartel added to the prices consumers paid for their oil deliveries”.
The European market for this product was worth on average €32 million per annum between 2004 and 2006. Bridgestone, Yokohama, Dunlop Oil & Marine, Trelleborg, Parker ITR and Manuli regularly met to fix prices and exchange sensitive market information. These meetings took place in several locations in Europe, East Asia and the US. Cartel members referred to some markets as
their "private markets" and agreed upon a dozen or so pages of detailed "cartel rules" to limit their conduct on the market.
In setting the fines, the Commission took into account the respective affected sales of the companies involved as well as the combined market share and the geographical scope of the cartel agreements. Bridgestone's and Parker ITR's fines (€58.5 million and €25.610 respectively) were increased by 30% because of their leadership of the cartel. Yokohama was the first company to come forward with information about the cartel under the Commission's 2006 Leniency Notice and therefore received full immunity from fines. The cooperation of Manuli with the investigation under the Commission's leniency programme was also rewarded and Manuli was granted a 30% reduction in its fine (€4.9 million). Dunlop Oil & Marine/Continental received a fine of €18 million and Trelleborg a fine of €24.5 million. (O.L./transl.rh)