Hub-and-Spoke Collusion in the Grocery Industry

This article summarizes the findings of Clark, Horstmann & Houde (2024), which provide the first rigorous economic analysis of hub-and-spoke collusion using evidence from the alleged Canadian commercial bread cartel. Drawing on court documents, Consumer Price Index data, and granular store-level retail prices, the study documents a long-running collusive arrangement involving both upstream bread suppliers and downstream grocery retailers. The empirical evidence shows that bread prices rose s