Freightliner sues supplier Allison; alleges antitrust violations

PORTLAND — North America’s largest heavy truck maker is taking one of its suppliers to court over what it describes as “predatory and discriminatory” activities.

In a very rare antitrust case, Freightliner LLC is suing General Motors for marketing practices relating to the company’s Allison Transmission unit, which the truckmaker alleges monopolizes the niche diesel vehicle market.

Allison, a division of GM since 1929, is the biggest player in the hydraulic planetary automatic transmission market, and controls about 99 percent of diesel-powered walk-in van business, full-size school buses, diesel-powered recreational vehicles and diesel-powered shuttle buses, claims the Freightliner suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Oregon.

Freightliner is the North American truck subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler. Included under the Freightliner umbrella are Sterling Trucks, Western Star Trucks, and Thomas Built Buses.

The suit alleges that GM is committing “numerous violations of the antitrust laws, including exclusive dealing,” according to Associate Press.

By throwing around its weight, GM is squeezing out new competitors — namely Caterpillar — in order to boost its share in the on-highway market. It is also forcing customers to buy entire lines of products, Freightliner alleges.

The suit goes on to claim Freightliner has “been substantially injured” because of an unwillingness to agree to GM’s terms in some cases. “If (GM) is permitted to continue this conduct, it will drive any actual competition from the field and successfully block any new entrants,” the suit said.

According to the AP report, Freightliner’s suit specifically names Caterpillar as a company blocked in trying to attract Freightliner’s business in the medium-duty truck market.

The lawsuit claims that GM created the Edge program in direct response to a line of Cat transmissions introduced in last year.

Under the Edge program, says Freightliner, Allison’s customers in the school bus, recreational vehicle, shuttle bus and walk-in van segments must purchase all transmissions from GM. Customers must also increase purchases of Allison units in other vehicle segments, among other provisions.

The suit alleges that customers that do not participate in the Edge program are punished by losing discounts, future product features, and warranty agreements.

Requests for comment sent to GM’s media department were not returned by this posting.

However, GM spokeswoman Toni Simonetti told AP “the allegations are out of order” and insisted the company “will vigorously defend against these claims.” She added GM considers Freightliner a good customer.

— from Associate Press