Did you or your company purchase PVC Pipes directly from a PVC Pipe Manufacturer since January 1, 2021? 

Grabar Law Office is investigating potential antitrust claims on behalf of all direct purchasers of PVC Pipes since January 1, 2021.

It is alleged that PVC Pipe manufacturers used a shared industry newsletter, OPIS, to coordinate pricing actions and fix the price of PVC Pipes sold in the United States and its territories, even as demand and key raw material costs declined.

The alleged price-fixing scheme has resulted in massively inflated PVC Pipe prices and profit margins. These prices and profit margins defy economic logic, remaining at elevated levels despite normalized supply chains, normalized input costs (PVC resin), and weak demand. For example, municipal PVC Pipes and conduit PVC Pipes currently remain 4.7 times and 2.7 times above pre-Covid levels, respectively, according to OPIS.

The manufacturers under investigation include:

• Aliaxis SA/NV
• Atkore Inc.
• Cantex Inc.
• Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company.
• Diamond Plastics Corporation
• IPEX Inc.
• IPEX USA LLC
• J-M Manufacturing Company, Inc. D/B/A JM Eagle
• National Pipe & Plastics, Inc.
• Northern Pipe Products, Inc.
• Ottertail Corporation
• Pipelife International GmBh
• Pipelife Jet Stream, Inc.
• Sanderson Pipe Corporation
• Southern Pipe, Inc.
• Vinyltech Corporation
• Westlake Corporation
• Westlake Pipe & Fittings Corporation (F/K/A Napco Pipe & Fittings) D/B/A North America PVC Pipe Corporation

Specifically, it is alleged that PVC Pipe manufacturers have justified their price increases during the last several years by citing increases in input costs and supply chain constraints. However, the extraordinary price increases of PVC Pipe over the last several years cannot be explained by normal market forces. PVC resin is the primary ingredient used in the production of PVC Pipe, accounting for 92%-95% of the raw materials used to manufacture PVC Pipes.

Yet the increase in the price of PVC Pipe does not correspond to changes in the price of resin. Further, there has been no corresponding increase in the demand for residential and non-residential construction that would account for the large increases in PVC Pipe prices since January 1, 2021.

Moreover, the profit margins for Atkore, Ottertail and Westlake (the public company manufacturers) soared. For example, Ottertail's core pipe segment earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew nine times from 2019 to 2023 (100% organic) as reported price increased more than 198% and margins expanded to 61% from an average of 14% between 2013-2019. Atkore's core electrical segment earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew 3.4 times from 2019 to 2023 (majority organic) as its reported prices increased more than 86% and margins expanded from 20% to 38%. Westlake's building products and pipe segment EBITDA grew 3.7 times from 2019 to 2023 as its reported prices increased more than 74% and margins expanded from 13.5% to 22.5%.

The major types of PVC Pipes at issue are: (1) plumbing PVC Pipes: pipes used in plumbing and drainage in residential and commercial settings; (2) conduit PVC Pipes: pipes used in electrical conduit and ductwork for heating and cooling systems; and (3) municipal PVC Pipes: pipes used in municipal water and sewer systems.

If you or your company paid for PVC Pipe directly from any of the above manufacturers at any time after January 1, 2021, you may have been overcharged and may be entitled to recover financial damages, as well as potentially a court approved service award, if appropriate, at no cost to you whatsoever.

A standard no-cost retainer letter can be viewed here: PVC Pipe General Antitrust Retainer Letter

If you would like to learn more about this matter, you are encouraged to contact Joshua Grabar at [email protected] or call us at 267-507-6085.