(Lack of) Competition, Coordination, and Information Sharing in the Pork Industry: United States, 2009–2020

Donna, Javier and Walsh, Anita (2023): (Lack of) Competition, Coordination, and Information Sharing in the Pork Industry: United States, 2009–2020. Published in: Antitrust Bulletin , Vol. 68, No. 1 (2023): pp. 117-136.

Abstract

n 2020, an antitrust lawsuit was filed against the Pork Integrators alleging a §1 Sherman Act violation. At the center of the Lawsuit, there is an alleged exchange of atomistic information about the Pork integrators’ operations using Agri Stats, Inc. as a clearinghouse. We use the Supreme Court benchmark in American Column & Lumber to discuss two questions that arise from the Lawsuit. The first is whether the association of Pork Integrators and Agri Stats, Inc., resulted in the restraint of interstate commerce, the main specific issue at stake in the pork Lawsuit. The second is whether information-exchange agreements using clearinghouses like Agri Stats, Inc., lessen competition and offend U.S. antitrust law, a more general issue beyond the pork Lawsuit. We find that there appears to be ample evidence in the Lawsuit to merit prosecution regarding both trade restraints and information-sharing agreements. We conclude by discussing the role of the Agencies in setting the standards in information-exchange agreements.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: antitrust, price-fixing, competition, information sharing, cartel, pork industry
• Subjects: K - Law and Economics > K2 - Regulation and Business Law > K21 - Antitrust Law; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L12 - Monopoly ; Monopolization Strategies; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L13 - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets; L - Industrial Organization > L4 - Antitrust Issues and Policies > L41 - Monopolization ; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices; L - Industrial Organization > L4 - Antitrust Issues and Policies > L42 - Vertical Restraints ; Resale Price Maintenance ; Quantity Discounts; L - Industrial Organization > L6 - Industry Studies: Manufacturing > L66 - Food ; Beverages ; Cosmetics ; Tobacco ; Wine and Spirits

References

William D. McBride & Nigel Key, ChArACteristiCs And produCtion Costs of united stAtes hoG fArms, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Economic Information Bulletin, No. 32(2007).

Steve Meyer, “understAndinG the meAsures of pork demAnd, National Hog Farmer (2009)

Steve R. Meyer et al. how And where is priCe estAblished? Pork Information Gateway (2015)

Holly Cook, Dermot Hayes, and Barry Goodwin, U.S. retail pork price inflation, National Pork Producer Council, 2021; Holly Cook, Dermot Hayes, and Barry Goodwin, ConCentrAtion in the u.s pork industry, National Pork ProducercCouncil, 2022.