OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Several municipalities from across the country are pushing forward with a lawsuit against fire truck manufacturers, but members of the Wisconsin Fire Chiefs Association worry that the lawsuit will cause prices to rise even higher.
- The City of La Crosse, among several other municipalities from across the country, alleges multiple fire truck manufacturers, including Oshkosh Corporation, have conspired together to illegally raise prices.
- Spokespeople from two of the manufacturers listed in the lawsuit deny the allegations and say the companies are prepared to defend themselves in court.
- The past president of the Wisconsin Fire Chiefs Association says there may be other factors contributing to escalating prices.
The City of La Crosse first filed a lawsuit in August. It alleges the Oshkosh Corporation and Pierce Manufacturing, REV Group, Rosenbauer America and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association have conspired to illegally raise prices and delay deliveries.
In a statement, the City of La Crosse says:
"For too long, these companies have illegally inflated prices, limited the supply of essential emergency vehicles and caused unreasonable delays in manufacturing and delivery. These actions have placed an unfair financial burden on our city. Our citizens deserve the highest level of protection, and that starts with ensuring our first responders have access to the best equipment available. This legal action reflects our commitment to holding these manufacturers accountable and continuing to advocate for the safety of our citizens."
At the end of December, four other cities joined on La Crosse's lawsuit, including Onalaska and Ann Arbor.
In total, including those municipalities listed in the lawsuit, there have been nine legal complaints against the manufacturers since last summer.
The lawsuit says vehicle prices have doubled over the past decade. A standard pump truck that cost $500,000 in the 2010s now costs $1 million, it says.
The plaintiff's say this spike is too drastic to blame solely on inflation.
They claim Rosenbauer, which is based in South Dakota, Oshkosh Corporation, based in Oshkosh, and REV Group, based in Brookfield, have worked together to spike costs and increase revenue.
"Together, these three manufacturers control between 70 and 80 percent of the U.S. fire truck market, and they have unlawfully conspired to use their collective market power to suppress the fire truck supply and raise prices," the lawsuit says.
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Joe Pulvermacher is the fire chief for the Village of Menominee Falls. He's also a current member and former president of the WFCA.
“The Wisconsin Fire Chiefs Association represents fire chiefs throughout the state," he says. "What we try to do is advocate for those things that are happening within the state.”
He says they’ve been monitoring rising prices of fire vehicles for sometime.
“These vehicles are obviously very specialized," he says. "Typically these vehicles are a lot of money to begin with."
Pulvermacher says while he is open minded to the lawsuit, he hesitates to point to a manufacturer conspiracy.
"There were a number of things that happened within the manufacturing industry that influenced the price of these vehicles," he says. "Those prices did go up and you can look at a number of different things that influence that. Some of it may have been the fact that after COVID there were some supply chain issues– it became a situation where demand increased as well”
He also says tariffs may be contributing to higher prices.
Pulvermacher says he understands the frustration and desire to hold the manufacturers accountable, but that a lawsuit might do more harm than good.
"My concern with the class action is that the there's going to be a lot of money that is identified as a potential settlement, but where does that money go?" he says. "And then if the vehicle manufacturers are responsible for a settlement, who's going to be paying for the settlement? Ultimately I think it's going to be the market. So is it going to add to the price of the vehicles?"
While Rosenbauer America did not respond to request for comment, spokespeople for the Oshkosh Corporation and REV Group have denied the allegations and say they're prepared to defend themselves in court.
