Bridgestone Corp., Price Fixing, Ohio 2023
Bridgestone Corp., a Tokyo, Japan-based company, has agreed to plead guilty to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo.
According to the charges, Bridgestone engaged in a conspiracy to allocate sales of, to rig bids for, and to fix, raise, and maintain the prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts it sold to Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corp., Isuzu Motors Ltd., and certain of their subsidiaries, affiliates, and suppliers, in the United States and elsewhere.
In addition to the criminal fine, Bridgestone also has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing auto parts investigations. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
In October 2011, Bridgestone pleaded guilty and paid a $28 million fine for price-fixing and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in the marine hose industry, but did not disclose at the time of the plea that it had also participated in the anti-vibration rubber parts conspiracy. Bridgestone’s failure to disclose this conspiracy was a factor in determining the $425 million fine.
“The Antitrust Division will take a hard line when repeat offenders fail to disclose additional anticompetitive behavior,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “Today’s significant fine reaffirms the division’s commitment to holding companies accountable for conduct that harms U.S. consumers.”
According to the charges, Bridgestone and its co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy through meetings and conversations in which they discussed and agreed upon bids, prices, and allocating sales of certain automotive anti-vibration rubber products. After exchanging this information with its co-conspirators, Bridgestone submitted bids and prices in accordance with those agreements and sold and accepted payments for automotive anti-vibration rubber parts at collusive and noncompetitive prices.
Bridgestone manufactures and sells a variety of automotive parts, including anti-vibration rubber parts, which are comprised primarily of rubber and metal, and are installed in suspension systems and engine mounts as well as other parts of an automobile. They are installed in automobiles for the purpose of reducing road and engine vibration.
Including Bridgestone, 26 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the automotive parts industry. The companies have agreed to pay a total of more than $2 billion in criminal fines. Additionally, 28 individuals have been charged.
Bridgestone is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries maximum penalties of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims.
Bridgestone’s plea agreement is subject to court approval. The company has agreed to pay a $425 million criminal fine and cooperate with the ongoing auto parts investigations.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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