US hits container manufacturers with cartel charges, claiming US$35Bn of impacts to global trade

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturers and seven Chinese executives with participating in cartel conspiracy.

The indicted companies are China International Marine Containers (CIMC), Singamas Container Holdings, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment (Dong Fang), and CXIC Group Containers. According to the DOJ, the companies created an antitrust cartel controlling 95% of standard dry container manufacturing globally, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The DOJ alleges that the manufacturers conspired to limit the production of standard containers, thereby creating an artificial shortage that enabled the companies to drive up prices and their profits at the expense of businesses and consumers worldwide.

“Global price-fixing cartels strike at the heart of our economic liberty,” said acting assistant attorney general Omeed A. Assefi.

“The defendants held hostage the world’s supply of ocean shipping containers during the COVID pandemic when our supply chains needed it the most,” added Mr Assefi.

The DOJ alleges that the conspiracy began in November 2019 and continued until at least January 2024. During this period, according to the allegations, the companies held regular meetings to coordinate production limits, installed 87 video surveillance cameras on their production lines to monitor compliance with agreed production quotas, and created a joint financial fund to penalise any manufacturer that exceeded the agreed quotas.

The supply shortage that resulted from the alleged production limits put in place by the companies caused standard shipping container prices to double between 2019 and 2021, the indictment claims. CIMC, the largest manufacturer, saw its container segment profits rise from US$19.8M in 2019 to US$1.75Bn in 2021, DOJ said, while Singamas turned a US$110M loss in 2019 into a US$186.8M profit by 2021.

In total, the DOJ estimates the price-fixing conspiracy affected more than US$35Bn of global commerce.

One of the indicted executives, Vick Nam Hing Ma, was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on 14 April 2026 and is currently awaiting extradition to the US. The other six executives reportedly remain at large.

If convicted, the executives face up to ten years in prison. The companies could face fines of up to US$100M, or twice the total financial gains derived from the conspiracy, if they are found guilty. The DOJ cautioned in its statement that “An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent."