DOJ Accuses Four Manufacturing Firms of Fixing Shipping Container Prices

By Elias Schisgall

The Department of Justice indicted four shipping container manufacturers, alleging that they conspired to restrict the output and fix prices of shipping containers for at least four years.

The companies - Singamas Container Holdings, based in Hong Kong; as well as China-based China International Marine Containers; Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment; and CXIC Group Containers - supply nearly all of the world's standard unrefrigerated shipping containers, the DOJ said.

The four firms allegedly conspired to roughly double container prices between 2019 and 2021, resulting in a roughly one hundredfold increase to their profits, the DOJ said.

In addition to the four companies, the DOJ also indicted multiple executives at the firms, including the CEOs of Singamas, CIMC, and CXIC.

The indictment supersedes a previous indictment of Singamas Marketing Director Vick Nam Hing Ma, who was arrested in France last month. His extradition to the U.S. is pending, the DOJ said.

Singamas, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CIMC Group Containers could not be immediately reached for comment.

"Global price-fixing cartels strike at the heart of our economic liberty," Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said. "The defendants held hostage the world's supply of ocean shipping containers during the Covid pandemic when our supply chains needed it the most. They stole from everyday Americans who paid more and waited longer for vital goods as a result."

The DOJ is alleging that discussions around the price-fixing scheme began as early as March 2019. Three of the companies agreed to limit production lines of standard dry containers, install surveillance cameras to enforce the limits, and to not build any new manufacturing facilities. Singamas joined the scheme as early as March 2020, the DOJ said.

The companies would later restrict the total cargo volume of containers they produced, as well as the amount of containers they would ship to various customers, including major U.S. firms, the DOJ said.

The companies and their executives are charged with violating Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2026 16:41 ET (20:41 GMT)