Smiley says fire truck manufacturers are driving up costs for Providence taxpayers

The city of Providence is joining a list of communities across the nation accusing three fire truck manufacturers of conspiring to suppress the supply of emergency vehicles, raise their prices, and leave municipalities waiting longer for them.

City officials filed a 72-page federal antitrust lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, accusing the nation’s three major manufacturers and a trade organization of doubling or even tripling the cost of some firefighting equipment.

In one example, the lawsuit states city officials purchased three pumper firetrucks in 2021 from Pierce Manufacturing for a cost of $449,159 per vehicle. Then in 2024, the price of a pumper rose 63.5% to $734,320 when the city bought five more from the company. City officials said they won’t be delivered until 2027.

“Providence’s taxpayers should not be forced to pay these inflated prices because of anti-competitive, price-fixing practices within the industry,” Providence Mayor Smiley said in a statement Monday. “When the tools and equipment that are used by our firefighters are put in jeopardy, public safety is put at risk.”

The city’s lawsuit targets Oshkosh Corporation, which is the parent company of Pierce Manufacturing, along with Rosenbauer America, and Terex for allegedly dividing the country into exclusive territories to stop smaller fire apparatus dealers from competing. As a result, fire departments have been blocked from shopping around for better prices or terms.

Providence officials blame consolidation among three of the nation’s largest fire truck manufacturers for limiting the fire department’s ability to even obtain replacement parts for its aging fleet of vehicles.

“The city of Providence cannot avoid the harms inflicted by this market transformation,” the lawsuit states. “The city is paying more, to wait longer to upgrade and modernize its fleet, while fires do not stop and emergencies continue to demand action to save lives and property.”

Providence’s lawsuit also names the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association, which the city claims acts as an intermediary where confidential information is shared by the major manufacturers.

Representatives for Rosenbauer, Terex, and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Oshkosh said allegations made by the city were “without merit.”

“We are defending ourselves in court,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Rhode Island Current. “Oshkosh remains focused on delivering safe, high-quality fire trucks while continuing to reinvest in our U.S. operations to meet record demand.” 

Industry officials have denied that lack of competition played a role in firetruck shortages and high prices, instead blaming postpandemic labor shortages and supply-chain disruptions. Dan Meyer, Pierce’s VP of sales for Pierce, even testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in September that “historic” demand, global supply challenges, and inflation were to blame for high prices and delays.

But the city’s lawsuit characterizes supply chain problems as simply industry talking points, noting that plaintiff manufacturers have seen higher profit margins since the pandemic.

“In a competitive market, massive delays like these would be a death knell for a company as competitors would step up production to fill the void,” the lawsuit states. “Here, the industry’s response has been laconic at best.”

Providence officials are asking the court for damages, along with forcing the plaintiff companies to surrender their “ill-gotten profits” and unwind anticompetitive practices.

“When a monopoly drives up the cost of lifesaving fire trucks, those costs are ultimately placed onto our neighbors,” Smiley said. “Every additional dollar spent on overpriced equipment is a dollar less spent on investing in crucial housing, our children, our schools and other critical city services.”

The city’s case has been assigned to Judge Mary S. McElroy, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump during his first term.

Other governments that have filed federal lawsuits against fire truck manufacturers include Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Des Moines, Iowa; and Los Angeles County in California.