Seven executives from the world’s largest dry shipping container manufacturers were charged by the US Department of Justice on May 19 with conspiring to fix prices and restrict production from 2019 to at least early 2024 [1, 2, 3].
The accused companies are China International Marine Containers (CIMC), CXIC Group Containers, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and Singamas Container Holdings, which together produce about 95% of global dry container supply worth $35 billion annually [4, 1, 5, 3].
Among the executives is Teo Siong Seng, CEO and chairman of Singamas and executive chairman of Pacific International Lines, based in Singapore [1, 2, 6, 7]. The US alleges that Teo advised others to "keep low key" about cartel activity and instructed deleting emails to avoid detection [8]. An email from an unnamed Singamas executive showed unease, saying: "Maybe we should delete this string of emails after reading?" with Teo replying, "Yes I feel the same" [8].
The conspiracy began around a November 14, 2019 meeting at CIMC headquarters in Shenzhen. Firms agreed to restrict container output through production quotas, limiting shifts and hours, and enforcing penalties for exceeding quotas [1, 3, 9, 10]. The cartel used video surveillance to monitor adherence to quotas and maintain production controls [1, 3].
Between 2019 and 2021, prices for standard dry shipping containers roughly doubled, boosting the cartel members’ profits approximately one hundredfold amid the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain crisis, according to the DOJ [4, 1, 2, 5, 3]. The DOJ said, "The multi-year conspiracy roughly doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021, increasing the container manufacturers’ profits approximately one hundredfold during the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain crisis" [2].
Marketing director Vick Nam Hing Ma of Singamas was arrested in France in April 2026 and awaits extradition to the US. The other six executives, including Teo, remain at large [2, 6, 8, 5]. Singamas and Teo have not yet been served with US legal process as of mid-May and have engaged external legal advisers. Singamas’ business operations continue as normal [2, 8, 7, 11].
Singamas is a publicly traded firm on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a subsidiary of Pacific International Lines, where Teo serves as executive chairman [2, 3, 11]. Teo is a prominent maritime and business leader in Singapore, chairing the Singapore Business Federation and participating in the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce [2, 6, 8, 7, 10].
The next key step is potential extradition proceedings for Vick Nam Hing Ma from France to the US and pending legal actions involving the other accused executives, including Teo.
