Seven Chinese executives and four of the world\u2019s largest shipping container manufacturing companies were indicted for conspiring to restrict the output of \u2014 and fix the prices of \u2014 nearly all of the world\u2019s standard unrefrigerated shipping containers for over four years, spanning as early as November 2019 to at least January 2024, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The multi-year conspiracy roughly doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021, increasing the container manufacturers\u2019 profits approximately one hundredfold during the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain crisis. One executive, Vick Nam Hing Ma, was arrested and his extradition to the United States is pending. Six executive co-defendants remain at large.<\/p>\n
Defendant Vick Nam Hing Ma, also known as \u201cVick Ma\u201d, \u201c\u99ac\u5357\u6176\u201d and \u201c\u9a6c\u5357\u5e86\u201d in Chinese, 54, of the People\u2019s Republic of China, was employed by Singamas Container Holdings Ltd. as Marketing Director. He was arrested on April 14, 2026, in France and his extradition to the United States is pending. Following Ma\u2019s arrest, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California unsealed today a superseding indictment<\/a> charging Ma and 10 of his co-conspirators for conspiring to restrict the output of\u2014and fix the price of \u2014 nearly all the world\u2019s standard unrefrigerated shipping containers (also known as standard dry containers), the intermodal containers which carry billions of dollars of goods across the oceans to American households each year. In total, the superseding indictment charges 11 defendants, including 10 of Ma\u2019s co-conspirators:<\/p>\n Singamas Container Holdings Ltd. (Singamas) also known as \u201c\u80dc\u72ee\u8d27\u67dc\u4f01\u4e1a\u6709\u9650\u516c\u53f8\u201d in Chinese, was a publicly traded company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong in the People\u2019s Republic of China. Singamas was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC), also known as \u201c\u4e2d\u56fd\u56fd\u9645\u6d77\u8fd0\u96c6\u88c5\u7bb1\uff08\u96c6\u56e2\uff09\u80a1\u4efd\u6709\u9650\u516c\u53f8\u201d in Chinese, was a publicly traded company, organized and existing under the laws of the People\u2019s Republic of China. CIMC was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd., also known as \u201c\u4e0a\u6d77\u5bf0\u5b87\u7269\u6d41\u88c5\u5907\u6709\u9650\u516c\u53f8\u201d in Chinese, was a company organized and existing under the laws of the People\u2019s Republic of China. Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter \u201cDong Fang\u201d) owned, managed, and did business as a brand of shipping containers called Dong Fang International Containers, also known as \u201cDF\u201d, \u201cDFIC\u201d, or Dong Fang. Dong Fang was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.CXIC Group Containers Co. Ltd. (CXIC) also known as \u201c\u65b0\u534e\u660c\u96c6\u56e2\u6709\u9650\u516c\u53f8\u201d in Chinese, was a company organized and existing under the laws of the People\u2019s Republic of China. CXIC was engaged in the business of manufacturing dry shipping containers and selling them to customers in the United States and elsewhere.Siong Seng Teo, 71, also known as \u201c\u5f35\u677e\u8072\u201d and \u201c\u5f20\u677e\u58f0\u201d in Chinese, and \u201cS. Teo,\u201d was employed by Singamas as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. Teo is believed to be a resident of the Republic of Singapore.Boliang Mai, 67, also known as \u201c\u9ea6\u4f2f\u826f\u201d in Chinese, was employed by CIMC in various senior roles. From August 2015 through July 2020, Mai served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CIMC. From August 2020 through the rest of the period covered by the Superseding Indictment, he served as Chairman and CEO of CIMC. Mai is believed to be a resident of the People\u2019s Republic of China.Tianhua Huang, 62, also known as \u201c\u9ec4\u7530\u5316\u201d in Chinese and \u201cT.H. Huang,\u201d was employed by CIMC as Vice President. Huang is believed to be a resident of the People\u2019s Republic of China.Yongbo Wan, 47, also known as \u201c\u4e07\u6c38\u6ce2\u201d in Chinese, was employed by CIMC as General Manager of CIMC\u2019s Operation Management Center. Wan is believed to be a resident of the People\u2019s Republic of China.Qianmin Li, 62, also known as \u201c\u674e\u524d\u654f\u201d in Chinese, was employed by Dong Fang as General Manager. Li is believed to be a resident of the People\u2019s Republic of China.Yuqiang Zhang, 49, also known as \u201c\u5f20\u94b0\u5f3a\u201d in Chinese and \u201cJames Zhang,\u201d was employed by CXIC as CEO. Zhang is believed to be a resident of the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n \u201cCheaters never prosper,\u201d said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. \u201cThis Department of Justice is ensuring that when American pocketbooks are pilfered, accountability will follow. And yet the last administration saw fit to prioritize the weaponization of the Department through novel criminal prosecution theories rather than focus on criminal actors most responsible for manipulating markets to profit from a global pandemic. Thankfully, this Department has righted that wrong, eliminating the weaponization of Government and prioritizing ensuring affordability for all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlobal price-fixing cartels strike at the heart of our economic liberty. The defendants held hostage the world\u2019s 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,\u201d said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department\u2019s Antitrust Division. \u201cThe Justice Department\u2019s Antitrust Division is committed to protecting consumers and holding accountable anyone \u2014 anywhere in the world \u2014 who exploits Americans for ill-gotten gains.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe charges we announced today are possible only because of the dedicated men and women of the Antitrust Division\u2019s San Francisco Office and our partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of California, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General,\u201d said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad for Criminal Enforcement of the Justice Department\u2019s Antitrust Division. \u201cWorking together, these law enforcement professionals conducted a thorough, speedy investigation and stand ready to prove the allegations in the indictment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese defendants, as alleged, sought to exploit a global pandemic to increase their own profits. Their illegal agreement to fix prices and limit supply of these shipping containers resulted in the American consumer paying more and waiting longer for critical goods,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California. \u201cWe will not tolerate any attempt to manipulate the free markets and will continue to work with our partners at the Antitrust Division to protect the public from these defendants and others like them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe FBI remains committed to protecting the American people from global entities illegally conspiring to engage in price fixing,\u201d said Operations Director Joe Perez of the FBI\u2019s Criminal and Cyber Branch. \u201cWe are proud to work with our partners to ensure that criminals seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers are brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese charges represent the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General\u2019s commitment to work with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners to prosecute individuals and companies who restrict trade for personal benefit,\u201d said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cloninger of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. \u201cWe will continue to pursue and bring to justice those that conspire to engage in anticompetitive practices and harm U.S. citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue working with law enforcement partners to protect our supply chain and aggressively investigate all allegations of price fixing,\u201d said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Jason Suffredini of the U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.<\/p>\n As alleged in the superseding indictment, as early as March 2019, several of the conspirators began discussing a scheme to restrict the output and fix the prices of standard dry shipping containers. On or about Nov. 14, 2019, Yongbo Wan and Tianhua Huang of CIMC, Qianmin Li of Dong Fang, Yuqiang Zhang of CXIC, and a co-conspiring executive of Co-Conspirator Company A met at CIMC\u2019s headquarters in the city of Shenzhen. The goal of the agreement was to raise the price of standard dry shipping containers. To do so, they agreed to restrict CIMC\u2019s, Dong Fang\u2019s, CXIC\u2019s, and Co-Conspirator Company A\u2019s output of standard dry shipping containers by various means, including:<\/p>\n Limiting the number of shifts and hours that each production line for standard dry containers could run per day;Installing 87 video surveillance cameras on all 49 dry container production lines to ensure that the companies did not exceed the agreed-upon limitations;Not building any new container manufacturing factories; andEstablishing a fund that included a mechanism to penalize financially any cheating on the output-restriction agreement.<\/p>\n The participants contemplated that Singamas and Co-Conspirator Company B would join the output-restriction agreement later. Those companies did so by at least as early as March 2020.<\/p>\n Throughout their conspiracy, the conspirators refined the operation of the output-restriction agreement. By September 2020, the conspirators agreed to restrict how many standard dry shipping containers the company conspirators would manufacture for particular customers. These customers included major U.S.-based container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies, in addition to container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies based in Europe, the People\u2019s Republic of China, and elsewhere. And from at least as early as September 2022 until at least as late as November 2023, the conspirators agreed to cap the total cargo volume of containers that the company conspirators produced. On or about November 20, 2023, for example, Vick Ma of Singamas co-presented to his CEO, co-defendant Siong Seng Teo, the conspiracy\u2019s \u201cTotal Allowable capacity\u201d and \u201callowable quota\u201d for production \u2014 organized by each company conspirator and its factory lines.<\/p>\n As further alleged in the indictment, the profits of CIMC\u2019s container manufacturing business segment increased nearly one hundredfold from about $19.8 million USD in 2019, to about $288 million USD in 2020, to about $1.75 billion USD in 2021. Singamas\u2019s net income increased from a loss of about $110 million USD in 2019, to profits of about $4.6 million in 2020 and about $186.8 million in 2021.<\/p>\n The superseding indictment charges the defendants with a conspiracy in restraint of trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act (15 U.S.C. \u00a7 1). A violation of the Sherman Act carries 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 of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.<\/p>\n Matthew Chou, Daniel Twomey, Albert Sambat, and Christopher J. Carlberg of the Antitrust Division\u2019s San Francisco Office are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of California and the Antitrust Division\u2019s International Section. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The Justice Department\u2019s Office of International Affairs and French authorities provided significant assistance in securing the arrest of Vick Ma.<\/p>\n Anyone with information in connection with this investigation, or other antitrust and competition crimes, should contact the Antitrust Division\u2019s Complaint Center by visiting www.justice.gov\/atr\/report-violations<\/a>.\u00a0Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. Whistleblower awards can range from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, including a link to submit reports, visit www.justice.gov\/atr\/whistleblower-rewards<\/a>.<\/p>\n An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven Chinese executives and four of the world\u2019s largest shipping container manufacturing companies were indicted for conspiring to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-653279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}