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Monopoly not against public interest
Page 51
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AMONOPOLY condition exists in the supply of electrical wiring harnesses
for motor vehicles but it does not operate against the public interest.
These were the main findings of the latest report of the Monopolies Commission, Out on Tuesday, which said that Rist's Wires and Cables Ltd., a subsidiary of Joseph Lucas, supplied 51 per cent of UK sales between 1961-5.
But Rist's, whose main factory is at Newcastle-under-Lyme, were found to base their business with the motor trade on acceptable cost factors. It was not considered by the Commission that their quoted prices were uneconomic, and therefore there was no question of having to consider whether their prices were calculated to drive their lesser rivals out of business.
Indeed, the report found that competition between Rist's and the other two firms in the field—Ward and Goldstone, and Ripaults Ltd.—was intense.
Although the business of all three was going up, profits had been falling, and the steep rise in the price of copper had obliged them all to seek higher prices for their harnesses.
Nevertheless, the Commission regarded the upward trend in business of the three companies as a healthy sign. It was considered there was no likelihood of any of them being driven out of the vehicle wiring business in the foreseeable future.
By means of long-standing connections, Ripaults, who are based on Enfield, trade with Vauxhall. They had 23 per cent of sales in the period under review.
Ward and Goldstone, who trade with Ford from factories in the Salford area, had the other 26 per cent of the sales. Rist's are the traditional suppliers for Morris Motors, and they also supply most of the remaining main manufacturers.