COVID-19 and the pent-up consumer demand that followed led to higher-than-usual price increases for both materials and wages, which have continued. Prices have a way of doing that, seldom falling back to earlier levels.
Ask large-scale farmers across the country if they are surprised at how much high-horsepower tractors now cost – several hundred thousand dollars. Yes, modern farm equipment is loaded with added features, electronic technology and operator comforts, but the numbers are high.
So, too, are apparently the prices of fire trucks that even mid-sized fire districts must have. What cost $529,000 in early 2024 is $614,000 just 13 months later, a 16% increase (Herald, April 20). Orders are also taking longer to complete. A 2022 order took three years to arrive, while an order placed today is not promised until 2031.
Have manufacturers been unfairly suppressing supply and inflating prices, at least partly by sharing information? Manufacturers say no, arguing that the effects of the COVID economy have passed and that price increases and availability are more normal.
The Durango Fire Protection District has filed a class-action lawsuit against the three largest manufacturers, a legal challenge that may be unique in Colorado but has taken place in several other states.
We expect this lawsuit to take some time to resolve, favorably or unfavorably, but the outcome will be important to the taxpayers who support the fire district. Is the equipment that their tax dollars are making possible fairly priced? We look forward to the answers.
