European Commission fines 14 companies for operating cartel in Dutch road surfacing market
The EU last week fined 14 companies a total of €266.7m (£179.6m) for fixing the price of road bitumen in the Dutch market.
The cartel consisted of eight bitumen suppliers and six construction companies, including Ballast Nedam, which purchased the bitumen.
Between 1994 and 2002 the cartel members fixed prices and agreed minimum rebates for road builders buying the bitumen, used to make asphalt for road surfaces.
The suppliers in the cartel were BP, Shell, Total, Wintershall, Esha, Kloeckner Bitumen, Kuwait Petroleum and Nynas.
The companies that purchased the bitumen were Ballast Nedam, Dura Vermeer, Heijmans, Hollandsche Beton Groep. Koninklijke BAM Groep and Koninklijke Volker Wessels Stevin.
The European Commission began its investigation after BP blew the whistle on the cartel. As a result BP’s punishment was waived entirely.
By contrast, the commission increased the fine on Shell to €108m (£73m) because it was found to have instigated and led the cartel.
In the past year, cartels in the UK construction industry have increasingly come under the spotlight, with the OFT imposing hefty fines on roofing companies and announcing a crackdown on the housing repair sector.
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