More Fire Engines and Monopolies

a follow up to my 2.24.2025 post on this topic

Reuters is reporting that the International Association of Fire Fighters is asking the Dept. of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate three manufacturers of fire engines.¹ The price of fire engines has doubled in the last decade and the wait times for a new one is now four years and counting. Meanwhile, three companies control more than two-thirds of the market for fire engines, exceeding the classic definition of a concentrated market in which 3 or 4 companies control more than 50% of a market.

Missing from the Reuters report is the role of Private Equity firms in this market. More about that in my earlier post:

Fire Engines, Monopolies, & Private Equity – financialization at the fire house.

1. Godoy, Jody, and Jody Godoy. “As Fire Truck Prices Hit $2 Million, US Firefighters Demand an Antitrust Probe.” Reuters, May 13, 2025, sec. Boards, Policy & Regulation. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/fire-truck-prices-hit-2-million-us-firefighters-demand-an-antitrust-probe-2025-05-13/.