Toyo Tire & Rubber Co Ltd, Price Fixing, Ohio 2023

Table of Contents

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co Ltd Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing in Ohio

Ohio-based Toyo Tire & Rubber Co Ltd has agreed to plead guilty to its role in two separate conspiracies to fix the prices of automotive components involving anti-vibration rubber and driveshaft parts installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, according to a felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo.

According to the charge, Toyo engaged in a conspiracy to allocate sales of, to rig bids for, and to fix the prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts it sold to Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. – more commonly known by its brand name, Subaru – and certain of their subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers, in the United States and elsewhere. The anti-vibration rubber parts conspiracy is alleged to have taken place from as early as March 1996 until at least May 2012.

In addition, according to the charge, Toyo engaged in a separate conspiracy to allocate sales of, and to fix, raise and maintain the prices of automotive constant-velocity-joint boots it sold to U.S. subsidiaries of GKN plc, a British automotive parts supplier. The constant-velocity-joint boots conspiracy is alleged to have taken place from as early as January 2006 until as late as September 2010.

Toyo, which has subsidiaries based in Franklin, Ky., and White, Ga., has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.

“Today’s charge is the latest step in the Antitrust Division’s effort to hold automobile part suppliers accountable for their illegal and collusive conduct,” said Renata B. Hesse, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. “The division continues to vigorously prosecute companies and individuals that seek to maximize their profits through illegal and anticompetitive means.”

Toyo is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty 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 of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Toyo has agreed to pay a $120 million criminal fine.

Related Federal Cases