US probing if China firms cut output of containers before pandemic, says CBS
- On Tuesday, The Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging four Chinese shipping container manufacturers and seven executives with conspiring to restrict output and fix prices between November 2019 and January 2024.
- Manufacturers allegedly coordinated to restrict production hours in late 2019, creating artificial shortages that enabled companies to profit significantly while Americans faced higher costs, Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi stated.
- Executive Vick Ma was arrested in France as part of Operation Midnight, with the scheme involving commerce exceeding $35 billion and one defendant's profits jumping nearly 100-fold, from about $20 million in 2019 to about $1.75 billion in 2021.
- President Donald Trump administration officials kept the indictment under seal until after his Beijing summit to avoid disrupting diplomatic discussions on maintaining stable economic and trade ties between The United States and China.
- A 2025 report from the Office of the Trade Representative noted China has targeted maritime and logistics sectors for dominance for nearly three decades, positioning these antitrust charges as a milestone in international enforcement.
29 Articles
29 Articles
DOJ charges 7 Chinese execs, 4 companies in alleged conspiracy that drove up cost of global shipping
Over four years, the Justice Department alleges, the suspects doubled the cost of the containers, which increased the manufacturers' profits by 100-fold during the 2020 pandemic.
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej Today‘Chinese cartel’: US indicts seven executives, four firms over shipping container price-fixing
WASHINGTON, May 20 — The US yesterday announced the indictment of seven Chinese executives and four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturers for allegedly conspiring to limit output of their products and fix prices.The indicted companies manufacture about 95 per cent of the world’s standard dry shipping containers, and their alleged scheme to choke container supplies — during the Covid pandemic and related global supply chain cris…
US Charges Chinese Shipping Firms, Executives For Pandemic Price Fixing
The Department of Justice has charged four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturers and seven former executives for allegedly orchestrating a yearslong global conspiracy to restrict production and inflate prices for standard shipping containers. The superseding indictment, originally filed Jan. 22 and unsealed May 19, accuses the Chinese companies and executives of violating Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by conspiring to …
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