Investigation Focusing on Tyre Price Fixing in South Africa

On April 9 South Africa’s Competition Commission announced it had searched the offices of Dunlop Tyres International and Bridgestone South Africa to collect evidence of tyre industry price fixing in the South African market. Also searched were the offices of tyre industry association the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference. News of this action was reported by Reuters the following day.

“We can confirm that the raid took place. We will cooperate fully with the commission,” commented Bridgestone spokesman Romano Daniels to Reuters. “We are not concerned about the investigation. We don’t believe we conducted ourselves in an untoward way.” Dunlop has yet to comment on the day’s events.

Referring to the activities of the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference, the commission said “the commission is of the view that this organisation may constitute the platform where coffee table discussions to determine price increases have taken place.” Nandi Mokoena, a senior analyst at the commission, reported that the organisation received a complaint alleging that tyre manufacturers have been adjusting their prices around the same time and according to the same parameters. The commission has until October 2 to complete its investigation, although it is currently seeking an extension to this deadline.