The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed a superseding indictment charging four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturers and seven executives with conspiring to restrict output and fix prices of nearly all standard unrefrigerated shipping containers for over four years, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The indictment alleges the global conspiracy, which spanned from November 2019 to at least January 2024, roughly doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021. The scheme increased profits for some manufacturers significantly; for example, China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd.’s (CIMC) container manufacturing profits increased nearly one hundredfold, from about $19.8 million in 2019 to about $288 million in 2020, and then to about $1.75 billion in 2021.
The defendants include Singamas Container Holdings Ltd., CIMC, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd. (doing business as Dong Fang International Containers), and CXIC Group Containers Co. Ltd.
The seven executives charged are Siong Seng Teo, Boliang Mai, Tianhua Huang, Yongbo Wan, Qianmin Li, Yuqiang Zhang, and Vick Nam Hing Ma.
As alleged in the indictment, the conspirators agreed to limit the number of shifts and hours that production lines could run, install 87 video surveillance cameras on 49 production lines to monitor compliance, and establish a fund to penalize companies that cheated on the output-restriction agreement.
The indictment details that by September 2020, the conspirators agreed to restrict how many containers they would manufacture for particular customers, including major U.S.-based container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies.
From at least September 2022 until November 2023, the conspirators agreed to cap the total cargo volume of containers produced, with Ma co-presenting the conspiracy’s “Total Allowable capacity” and “allowable quota” for production to Teo in November 2023.
Singamas’s net income increased from a loss of about $110 million in 2019 to profits of about $4.6 million in 2020 and about $186.8 million in 2021.
“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. They stole from everyday Americans who paid more and waited longer for vital goods as a result. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division is committed to protecting consumers and holding accountable anyone — anywhere in the world — who exploits Americans for ill-gotten gains.”
Vick Nam Hing Ma, 54, was arrested on April 14, 2026, in France, and his extradition to the United States is pending.
Six executive co-defendants remain at large.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals, and a maximum penalty of a $100 million fine for corporations.
The fines may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.