Across the country, customers are finding bare shelves that were filled just over a month ago with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and cold medicine. Perhaps even more severe than the shortages of consumer products are the shortages of medical supplies—especially personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves. Under normal circumstances, we rely on market forces—countless unilateral decisions by independent actors pursuing their own interests and strategies—to govern the supply and purchases of the products now in short supply. The purpose of the antitrust laws is to ensure these competitive mechanisms are not subverted or circumvented.

Every competitive interaction—each negotiation, agreement and transaction—along the path from raw material to finished product takes time. As the world has witnessed, the COVID-19 virus does not give affected populations time. Cases, hospitalizations, and tragically, deaths, grow exponentially in a matter of days while the government and private industry try to catch up. One way to break through bottlenecks and potentially save time and lives is for industry participants to collaborate with each other to take fast, decisive measures to increase output and distribute products to those most in need as quickly as possible.