Thread by @AnnaRMatson

🚨 Three companies are buying up all the fire and ambulance truck manufacturers - Spiking prices 5x and leaving communities vulnerable.

This doesn't just put you at risk, it is increasing property taxes all across the nation.

This is a crisis and here is who started it🧵

A fire truck, known as a fire engine, used to cost around $500,000 just five years ago or $350,000 20 years ago. Now the same truck costs $1.5 million and could take years to get.

This isn’t covid inflation, its private equity and greed inflation.

Because of this, many fire stations are using unreliable equipment or going without it altogether. During the LA fires, about 40 fire engines were out of service according to Fire Rescue 1.

These trucks do not just cost money, they cost lives when they are out of service.

I’ve spoken with local fire chiefs to see how these increases impact communities. One chief has been working with a ladder truck from the 80’s that does not always pass the daily inspection.

Chief Weil is wondering how to plan for the future when money is running out. He then shared quotes with me for an ambulance so I could see these increases for myself 👇

In 2019, a Wheeled Coach Ambulance was $151,577.

In January 2022, that same ambulance was $182,479.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 the quote jumped to $203,576.

The final quote included a few minor upgrades. With those excluded, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 $𝟏𝟖,𝟔𝟒𝟕 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡.

That’s not all. Chief Weil also shared with me a quote for a fire engine from 2004 where the total price was $360,389. Today he says the same truck would cost between 1.2 and 1.5 million on the low end.

This is not covid inflation. This is private equity and greed inflation.

What is Private Equity?

I had Tiffany Ciance on my show to explain this.

“Private equity is any equity or lending that is not public. Your mom gives you a loan to start a business. That is private equity. That is a private person or a private institution giving a business owner money to run a business. That is not in and of itself a dirty word.

Pirate like private equity, however, these are firms that exist for one purpose, that is to create wealth for a very small select group of billionaires at the expense of anything and everything they come into contact with.”

Private equity is known to buy companies, strip them of all their wealth, bankrupt them, and move on to the next company. We have seen this with Joann Fabrics, Party City, Hooters, Red Lobster, and so many more.

Three firms have bought up roughly 80% of the market. The International Association of Firefighters is calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to start an investigation into anti-trust practices.

Their letter says,

"Over the past decade, private equity firms such as American Industrial Partners (AIP) have aggressively consolidated an industry that had been competitively diversified across at least two-dozen companies by rolling up various fire apparatus and emergency vehicle manufacturers into the holding company conglomerate REV Group. Today, there are just three dominant manufacturers: REV Group, Oshkosh (itself a serial acquirer), and Rosenbauer."

The three firms are REV Group, Oshkosh (Pierce), and Rosenbauer. REV Group only broke ties with private equity last year, but the damage has already been done.

In its 2022 annual report, REV Group admits that,

“Acquisitions have been and are likely to continue to be a significant component of our growth strategy."

This approach doesn’t just reduce competition for REV Group, it reduces competition across the entire market.

As consolidation increases, so do costs, leaving local governments and taxpayers footing the bill while the company’s stock grows 565% in just five years.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞:

Between 2022 and 2024:

REV Group has had a 1700% increase in net income.

Oshkosh has seen an almost 300% increase in net income.

Rosenbaur has seen a 234% increase in net profit.

𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥

Senator Josh Hawley read a statement from Oshkosh CFO, “When it comes to fire trucks, were starting to get into about a three year backlog.”

General President Edward Kelly told congress, “Not only do we need to do better, we need to investigate how we got here.”

Fire Chief Weil told me what the process used to look like 20 years ago.

“In the day, we used to sit down with Bill Foster from Spartan Motors, have lunch, a cup of coffee, and we would have a plan put together very shortly after that. Then, in a year or less, we would have a truck. We had personal relationships, and I had Bill Foster’s phone number, and Bill was the Vice President of Spartan Motors.

Now, that doesn’t exist. You have to go through a dealer who may be backlogged for I don’t know how long, and then they take your idea and turn it over to an engineer in a big company, and you wait. Then you go over the plan, make changes, and wait to get those changes back until you can come to the final product.”

Chief Weil then talked about how there are some small companies left outside of the three big giants and they are much easier to work with - if you can get on their schedule.

Unfortunately companies are taking advantage of this essential equipment. They know local governments will buy regardless of the price and will deal with long wait times - because there is no other option.

It's time for the @TheJusticeDept and the @FTC to answer the call of the IAFF and to investigation and take action against the big three fire conglomerates for putting communities at risk.

Thank you for making it this far. It is essential that more people hear about this. Thank you for every comment, share, and subscribe so I can continue my work 🙏