DOJ Reaches Settlement With Data Firm Over Meat Industry Competition Concerns

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a proposed settlement with Agri Stats Inc., requiring the data and consulting company to stop distributing competitively sensitive information among the nation’s major meat processors, officials announced on May 7.

The agreement, which was filed in federal court in Minnesota, seeks to address longstanding government concerns that the firm’s practices allowed processors to coordinate production and pricing, increasing costs for consumers nationwide.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and antitrust division leaders said the proposed settlement was an effort to foster competition and ease pressures on household budgets.

“A stable and affordable food supply is critical to our country’s well-being,” Blanche said in a statement. “This Department of Justice is laser-focused on making everyday life affordable for all Americans.”

Agri Stats, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, gathers detailed data on prices, output, costs, and other metrics from processors’ systems. It then standardizes and redistributes the information to participating companies through reports and meetings, according to the DOJ. Meat buyers such as grocers, restaurants, and distributors allegedly had no such access.

Agri Stats Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division said that the American people do not have to tolerate business models that increase their cost of living.

“The Antitrust Division’s mission is to use the antitrust laws to protect American consumers from inflated prices,” Assefi said.

“This settlement delivers immediate relief in the meat section of grocery stores across our nation.

“When companies decide certain information is too sensitive to share with the broader market, but not too sensitive to share with their closest competitors, that is a significant red flag that competition is being harmed.”

The complaint argued that this one-sided exchange reduced rivalry and supported systematic price hikes and output decisions for decades, particularly in the broiler chicken sector, while also affecting the pork and turkey markets historically.

Under the settlement, Agri Stats must stop providing sales reports or non-public pricing information used by processors to identify opportunities for price increases. It also must cease sharing granular production, cost, and labor figures at the company or facility level. Most data distributed by the firm will now be required to be offered to all interested domestic purchasers on fair, nondiscriminatory terms to reduce information asymmetry.

Additional requirements include limits on the timeliness of the shared data, the appointment of a court-approved monitor to oversee compliance, and the establishment of an antitrust compliance program with data security, whistleblower protections, and mandatory violation reporting.

A subsidiary, Express Markets Inc., may continue its price reports, which are less detailed and available more broadly, according to officials.

The settlement partners with attorneys general from California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. It follows broader scrutiny of meat industry practices.

Consumers have grappled with continuing rises in meat and poultry prices amid supply chain strains, regulatory pressures, and other factors affecting American families. For instance, analyses have cited significant increases in the prices of beef, chicken, and other proteins that take a bit out of household budgets. Broader cost-of-living challenges have also driven up grocery prices.

The proposed final judgment and competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register as required by the Tunney Act. The companies have 60 days to submit comments ahead of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota deciding whether to approve it as in the public interest.

Officials asked for tips on anticompetitive conduct in agriculture through the Antitrust Division or the joint USDA-DOJ agricultural markets partnership.