DOJ Files Criminal Antitrust Charges Against Four Chinese Container Manufacturers and Their Executives

On May 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice publicly announced that it had filed criminal antitrust charges against four Chinese container manufacturing companies – China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CIMC"), Singamas Container Holdings Limited ("Singamas"), Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Universal"), and Xin Huachang Group Co., Ltd. – and seven of their executives.

The case, brought under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, accuses the above-named companies and individuals of conspiring to restrict the output of standard dry freight containers and to fix prices from November 2019 to January 2024. The indictment was filed under seal in January 2026 and was officially unsealed on May 19, 2026, by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The four companies named in the indictment collectively account for approximately 95% of the global market for standard dry freight container production, and the case involves global trade valued at approximately $35 billion.

The DOJ alleges that the conspiracy began as early as November 2019. On November 14, 2019, executives of CIMC, Shanghai Universal, and Xin Huachang held a meeting at CIMC's headquarters in Shenzhen and formally reached an agreement to restrict output. Singamas joined the arrangement by March 2020.

The indictment describes a series of collusive measures, including: (1) restricting the number of daily shifts and operating hours per production line for standard dry freight containers; (2) installing 87 video surveillance cameras across all 49 dry freight container production lines to ensure that companies did not exceed the agreed output limits; (3) agreeing not to build any new container manufacturing plants; and (4) establishing a special fund to create a financial penalty mechanism for violations of the output restriction agreement. After the end of 2022, the collusion expanded to include restrictions on sales volumes to specific customers, including major U.S. shipping companies, logistics providers, and container leasing firms.

The indictment states that the collusion caused the prices of standard dry freight containers to nearly double between 2019 and 2021. The price of a 20-foot standard dry freight container rose from approximately 1,600tomorethan1,600tomorethan3,500, while the price of a 40-foot standard dry freight container rose from approximately 2,800tomorethan2,800tomorethan6,000. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these container manufacturers saw their profits increase nearly a hundredfold: CIMC's profit from its container manufacturing business soared from approximately 19.8millionin2019to19.8millionin2019to1.75 billion in 2021; Singamas turned a net loss of approximately 110millionin2019intoanetprofitofapproximately110millionin2019intoanetprofitofapproximately186.8 million in 2021.

Furthermore, the filing cites communications among the executives involved, showing that the conspirators consciously tried to conceal the conduct. For example, one executive wrote in an email that "we need to keep a low profile," and another executive responded that "this discussion seems to me to be anti-competitive ... I feel very uneasy reading your report" and suggested deleting the email chain. Other communications show executives emphasizing the need to discuss output restrictions in person to "avoid the suspicion of industry monopoly."

This case is brought under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act (15 U.S.C. § 1), which prohibits any contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade. Under this statute, individuals face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a criminal fine of up to 1million; corporations face amaximum criminal fine of up to1million; corporations face amaximum criminal fine of up to 100 million. China Intellectual Property Lawyer Network will continue to follow further developments.