U.S. indicts four Chinese container manufacturers alleging pandemic-era price-fixing cartel

SHENZHEN, CHINA - APRIL 12: A Chinese national flag is seen in the foreground with container ships, cranes, and stacked shipping containers at the Yantian International Container Terminal under cloudy skies, on April 12, 2025 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Cheng Xin/) Cheng Xin | News | The U.S. Justice Department has indicted four Chinese shipping giants for conspiring to restrict container output to fix prices during the pandemic era, in one of the most significant antitrust actions brought against Chinese firms in years, even as both sides seek to stabilize bilateral ties. China International Marine Containers, or CIMC, Singamas Container Holdings, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers colluded to cut container output from November 2019 to early 2024, pushing up prices, according to the U.S. Justice Department statement Tuesday on the indictment. "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," the department said. The four named companies did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment. …