You won’t find this in any Cummins investor deck. No glossy brochure or ESG slideshow will admit it. But PACCAR Inc. — the American truck giant behind Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF Trucks – has a long, dirty history. For over a decade, its European arm was part of one of the most extensive price-fixing cartels in industrial history.
PACCAR isn’t just another client for Cummins. It’s one of their most important global customers. Cummins engines power PACCAR trucks across continents. The business relationship runs deep. Yet despite PACCAR’s track record, Cummins has never commented on its partner’s cartel past — not once.
The Cartel: A Decade of Rigged Markets
Between 1997 and 2011, DAF Trucks (PACCAR’s European subsidiary) worked with Daimler, Volvo/Renault, Iveco, and MAN in a coordinated cartel. This wasn’t minor or accidental. It was structured, ongoing, and designed to stifle competition.
The cartel focused on three key areas:
- Price fixing: They agreed on uniform pricing to eliminate competitive pressure.
- Delaying emissions tech: They coordinated to hold back cleaner engine technology, cutting costs while harming the environment.
- Dividing up the market: They allocated customers and contracts to avoid bidding wars.
The Consequences: Fines but No Accountability
In 2016, the European Commission handed down more than €3 billion in fines. PACCAR’s share was €752 million – the second-largest in the group.
DAF was a central player. Still, the scandal never made front-page news. No resignations. No major coverage. Just a regulatory slap and business as usual.
There was no public apology from PACCAR. No change in leadership. Just payment and silence.
Cummins and PACCAR: Bound by Steel and Silence
Cummins wasn’t part of the cartel – but it wasn’t far from it either.
- PACCAR trucks rely heavily on Cummins engines.
- Cummins’ expansion into Europe was built, in part, on its links with DAF and other PACCAR brands.
- Their relationship includes joint technical development and supply chain integration.
So while Cummins didn’t fix prices, its products powered the trucks sold at those inflated prices. It benefited indirectly while customers, hauliers, and public sector buyers paid the cost.
No Comment. No Review. No Distancing.
When the story broke, Cummins stayed silent. No press release. No ethics review. No distancing itself from PACCAR. Not even a sentence acknowledging the scandal.
Despite building a brand on ethics, sustainability, and social governance, Cummins stayed quiet about one of its closest partners being fined three-quarters of a billion euros for rigging the market.
Why It Matters
Cummins sells itself as a company with values. It talks up ESG scores and integrity in leadership. But it continues to do business with a company that manipulated markets and delayed climate progress.
This raises questions:
- How can Cummins claim leadership in ethics while working with a known cartel participant?
- What due diligence did it do before or after the EU decision?
- Has it asked PACCAR for accountability or policy changes?
- Does Cummins have any ethical screening for major clients?
The Human Impact
The cartel didn’t just hit shareholders. It hurt real people.
Truckers, hauliers, small business owners – they all paid inflated prices. Governments bought overpriced fleets using public funds. Emergency services, waste collectors, ambulances – all affected.
The cartel delayed emissions progress. It slowed the rollout of cleaner trucks. And Cummins engines were inside many of them.
What Did Cummins Do? Nothing.
There’s no sign Cummins even blinked. No policy review. No boardroom reckoning. No public recognition of the scandal. Just business as usual.
That’s the part Cummins won’t put in a brochure.
Lee Thompson
Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project (TCAP)
Key source: European Commission Press Release, 19 July 2016
ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_16_2582