At the end of an investigation lasting more than 20 months, the Antitrust outlines the picture of the fuel distribution network in Italy, a picture where the more than 2.000 "white pumps" and the 82 points of sale connected to supermarkets and shopping centers have begun to undermine the oligopolistic structure of the "colored pumps", ie those linked to the oil companies, which with over 22.000 points of sale make up the lion's share in terms of quantity.
But if we look at the average throughput by type of system, the ranking is reversed: 7,2 million liters for large-scale distribution, 1,6 million for white pumps, 1,4 million for colored systems. The difference is easily explained, as the Antitrust points out: “The large-scale distribution practiced prices from 9 to 13 euro cents lower than the colored implants and from 1,5 to 5 euro cents lower than white implants”.
The competitive pressures, unequally distributed throughout Italy (the majority are in the North), do not change the behavior of traditional companies, whose range of variations in average monthly prices never exceeds 2%. According to the Antitrust therefore emerges "a panorama of oligopolistic interaction between the integrated operators". For the Antitrust, which notes "a scenario with a clear collusive connotation", the process of liberalization of the distribution network must continue and expand further, developing independent plants or plants linked to the large-scale distribution.
