The US Justice Department indicted seven Chinese executives and four shipping container manufacturers for conspiring to restrict output and fix prices during the Covid-19 pandemic, the department announced on May 20, 2026 [1, 2, 3].
The companies charged are China International Marine Containers (CIMC), Singamas Container Holdings, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers, which together produce about 95% of the world's standard dry shipping containers [2, 3]. The alleged cartel operated from November 2019 through early 2024 [2, 3].
Authorities say the defendants used production limits, surveillance cameras, bans on building new factories, and penalties for overproduction to enforce the agreement [3]. Prices for containers roughly doubled between 2019 and 2021, while manufacturers' profits increased approximately one hundredfold, according to the Department of Justice [3]. The scheme resulted in higher costs and longer wait times for US consumers during the pandemic [2].
Seven executives were indicted in total. One, Vick Ma, Singamas Container Holdings' marketing director, was arrested in France in April and is awaiting extradition to the US [2, 3].
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said: "Around the start of the global pandemic, these manufacturers exploited the crisis and their market power to squeeze the supply chain for profit." [2]
The indictment was filed in January 2026 in the Northern District of California and unsealed on May 20 [3]. Following the announcement, shares of CIMC and Singamas, both listed in Hong Kong, fell about 1.5-1.6% [3].
China is expected to view the US charges as an example of unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction by a foreign government [3].
The next legal steps will include the extradition proceedings for Vick Ma and potential court hearings on the cartel charges.
