SHAWNEE, Okla. –
The City of Shawnee has become the latest municipality, among a list of others around the country, to sue a group of fire truck manufacturers.
Details inside the lawsuit also indicated that hundreds more fire agencies across the state could join the lawsuit as part of a class.
Filed on March 16 in federal court, the city stands on similar grounds as other lawsuits and alleges that the manufacturers engaged in a pattern of conspiracy to lessen competition among fire truck manufacturers and drive an increase in prices, while also driving up the wait time for finished trucks to be delivered.
Oshkosh Corporation, Pierce Manufacturing, REV Group, Rosenbauer America, and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association are all named as defendants.
“The allegations in this lawsuit are without merit, and we are defending ourselves in court,” a spokesperson for Oshkosh Corporation told News 9. “Oshkosh remains focused on delivering safe, high-quality fire trucks while continuing to reinvest in our U.S. operations to meet record demand.”
The other defendants have not yet responded to requests for comment from News 9.
However, representatives for two of those companies have previously defended themselves openly while testifying in September before the Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Management.
“We have taken significant steps to boost our production and bring innovative products to the market, so that we can get more fire trucks on the road faster,” said Mike Virnig, an executive for REV Group.
REV Group and Pierce Manufacturing each brought advancements in technology as examples of how the companies were ramping back up to meet production schedules.
“At Pierce, price increases have slowed significantly,” Dan Meyer, an executive for Pierce Manufacturing, told the Senate subcommittee in September.
In its lawsuit, the City of Shawnee cites data from the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association. The data indicates that fulfillment rates from manufacturers had incrementally diminished over the last decade, with a sharper decline attributed directly to the COVID-19 pandemic, but concedes that the fulfillment rate has begun to rebound since 2022.
Still, the city expressed its dissatisfaction and brought forward an example of a custom pumper truck it ordered from Pierce Manufacturing in October of 2022 for $855,880.08.
City officials explained in the lawsuit that they canceled the order in July of 2025 for failure to meet the delivery deadline.
A city spokesperson declined to comment or provide an interview regarding pending litigation.
