US: A court has dismissed a nationwide antitrust lawsuit against six companies accused of conspiring to fix the price of concrete additives since 2017. Reuters has reported that the court found that price hikes, though ‘extreme and consistent,’ were not consistent with coordinated activity.

Defendants BASF, Cinven Group, Mapei, RPM, Saint-Gobain and Sika control 80-90% of the US$3bn US concrete additives market. The judge said the purchasers can try to replead most claims.

The European Commission previously conducted surprise inspections at ‘several’ construction chemicals producers in October 2023. A US probe followed in May 2024.