The EU has fined eight aluminum electrolytic capacitor manufacturers which been judged price monopolistic due to the operation of a cartel for the supply of aluminum and tantalum electrolytic capacitors between 1998 and 2012. These companies are Sanyo Electric, Hitachi Chemical, Rubycon, Elna, NEC Tokin, Vishay Polytech, Matsuo, Nichicon and Nippon Chemi-con, EU issued penalty against the price monopoly actions, except the Sanyo Electric and its parent firm Panasonic who are the immunity applicants, the other 8 companies been fined 254 million EUR totally.
These manufacturers are from Japan without exception, as investigated, they control the capacitor market, exchange confidential information including pricing, demand and supply information, and sign pricing agreements secretly, the meeting held mainly in Japan, but the monopoly takes place in the worldwide.
As indicated by Japan Fair Trade Commission, the above companies held meetings to discuss pricing and to decide the price hike level together, during the economy crisis in 2008 and tsunami period in 2011, while the sales dropped, these companies gather to control the price and take monopoly action for taking benefit.
