Cement companies operating in Romania suspected of alleged collusion

The prices charged by Romania’s three leading cement producers Holcim, CRH and HeidelbergCement have followed a similar pattern, and the geographic distribution of the customers around the three companies’ production facilities support suspicions related to the three sharing the market, according to a report on the cement market completed by Romania’s Competition Council.

Although the three companies have different production capacities, their capacity utilization ratios are resulting in roughly equal production, the report also concludes.

The report is part of an on-going investigation on the cement market started last October and is supportive to the hypothesis of collusion among the three players, although the Competition Council hasn’t inked any conclusion in this regard.

Last October, the Competition Council launched an investigation into an alleged anti-competitive agreement between Holcim, CRH and HeidelbergCement, which may have been coordinating their price strategies since 2010. As part of the probe, the competition authority conducted raids at the headquarters of the three companies and seized documentation. It has warned that fines of up to 10% of company turnover are applicable should it find any evidence of collusion. However, it also mentioned that companies that cooperated with the competition authority could expect leniency in the form of immunity or reduced fines.

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