LCD manufacturers are screened for price fixing

Here is an example of alleged price fixing that directly affects the prices that consumers pay in the market for their durables. The European Union competition commission are alleging that manufacturers of LCD screens have been engaged in a price fixing cartel in a market thought to be worth an estimated £43bn a year. The industry is dominated by LG Display and Samsung, which together have about half the market for television and computer monitors. Phillips, Sharp and Hitachi are also heavily involved in the market along with Chi Mei from Taiwan.

LCD panels are used in televisions, computer monitors and a range of smaller electronic gadgets including mobile phones and digital music players. The investigation into price fixing has crossed several countries including US, Japan, South Korea and Europe. In theory, fines for breaches of anti-trust laws can be as much as 10 per cent of annual turn-over.