The Horse that Got Away

The oil industry is the horse that got away. Way back in 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed. It didn’t specifically mention companies owning things all the way from the creation of the product to its sale, but it dealt with it just the same.
Then there was the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914. It addressed anti-competitive mergers and exclusive dealing, which can include "vertical integration," as it is called.

But there's mud in the pie. Vertical integration is not illegal in and of itself. No; it's only illegal if a company uses that control to block rivals. Loophole, mud in the pie—call it what you want, but the horse is getting away.

Perhaps the industry that attracts the most attention when it comes to vertical integration is the oil industry—"Big Oil," as it may be known to you. Oil companies often control the process from exploration and drilling wells to transportation by pipelines and tankers, to refining, to market and selling.

You might say, now hold on here. Oil companies don't own the gas stations. Those stations are independently owned. Yes. I suppose they are what is called "branded" stations—stations that operate under the name, logo, and fuel supply of an oil company even though they are owned and run independently.

Bottom line is, to a significant extent, Big Oil runs the show all the way from drilling the wells to selling the gas. That's vertical integration, and it remains something that often is not a good thing. For one thing, it gives the oil company leeway to set its own prices. The oil companies like that, but you don't.

So, just wondering: Why aren't we doing something about this?