Washington, May 19 – Seven Chinese executives and four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturing companies were indicted for conspiring to restrict the output of — and fix the prices of — nearly all of the world’s 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’ 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.
Defendant Vick Nam Hing Ma, also known as “Vick Ma”, “馬南慶” and “马南庆” in Chinese, 54, of the People’s 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’s arrest, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California unsealed today a superseding indictment charging Ma and 10 of his co-conspirators for conspiring to restrict the output of—and fix the price of — nearly all the world’s 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’s co-conspirators:
Singamas Container Holdings Ltd. (Singamas) also known as “胜狮货柜企业有限公司” in Chinese, was a publicly traded company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong in the People’s 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 “中国国际海运集装箱（集团）股份有限公司” in Chinese, was a publicly traded company, organized and existing under the laws of the People’s 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 “上海寰宇物流装备有限公司” in Chinese, was a company organized and existing under the laws of the People’s Republic of China. Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Dong Fang”) owned, managed, and did business as a brand of shipping containers called Dong Fang International Containers, also known as “DF”, “DFIC”, 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 “新华昌集团有限公司” in Chinese, was a company organized and existing under the laws of the People’s 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 “張松聲” and “张松声” in Chinese, and “S. Teo,” 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 “麦伯良” 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’s Republic of China.
Tianhua Huang, 62, also known as “黄田化” in Chinese and “T.H. Huang,” was employed by CIMC as Vice President. Huang is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
Yongbo Wan, 47, also known as “万永波” in Chinese, was employed by CIMC as General Manager of CIMC’s Operation Management Center. Wan is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
Qianmin Li, 62, also known as “李前敏” in Chinese, was employed by Dong Fang as General Manager. Li is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
Yuqiang Zhang, 49, also known as “张钰强” in Chinese and “James Zhang,” was employed by CXIC as CEO. Zhang is believed to be a resident of the People’s Republic of China.
“Cheaters never prosper,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “This 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.”
“Global price-fixing cartels strike at the heart of our economic liberty. The defendants held hostage the world’s 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,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division is committed to protecting consumers and holding accountable anyone — anywhere in the world — who exploits Americans for ill-gotten gains.”
“The charges we announced today are possible only because of the dedicated men and women of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and our partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad for Criminal Enforcement of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Working together, these law enforcement professionals conducted a thorough, speedy investigation and stand ready to prove the allegations in the indictment.”
“These 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,” said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California. “We 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.”
“The FBI remains committed to protecting the American people from global entities illegally conspiring to engage in price fixing,” said Operations Director Joe Perez of the FBI’s Criminal and Cyber Branch. “We are proud to work with our partners to ensure that criminals seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers are brought to justice.”
“These charges represent the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s 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,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cloninger of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those that conspire to engage in anticompetitive practices and harm U.S. citizens.”
“We will continue working with law enforcement partners to protect our supply chain and aggressively investigate all allegations of price fixing,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Jason Suffredini of the U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.
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’s 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’s, Dong Fang’s, CXIC’s, and Co-Conspirator Company A’s output of standard dry shipping containers by various means, including:
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; and Establishing a fund that included a mechanism to penalize financially any cheating on the output-restriction agreement.
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.
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’s 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’s “Total Allowable capacity” and “allowable quota” for production — organized by each company conspirator and its factory lines.
As further alleged in the indictment, the profits of CIMC’s 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’s 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.
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. § 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.
Matthew Chou, Daniel Twomey, Albert Sambat, and Christopher J. Carlberg of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Antitrust Division’s 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’s Office of International Affairs and French authorities provided significant assistance in securing the arrest of Vick Ma.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation, or other antitrust and competition crimes, should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center by visiting www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations. Whistleblowers 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.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
7月10日华盛顿讯，白宫今天证实，距离美国中期选举不到四个月，特朗普总统罢免了选举援助委员会（EAC）剩余的3名成员。 民主党人猛烈抨击特朗普总统削弱选举援助委员会的做法。该委员会是一个独立的联邦机构，负责协助管理选举资金。民主党人称，这只是特朗普总统试图颠覆美国选举的最新例证。 据率先报道此事的VoteBeat网站称，2名民主党委员托马斯·希克斯（Thomas Hicks）和本杰明·霍夫兰（Benjamin Hovland）于7月9日通过电子邮件被解雇。克里斯蒂·麦克科米克（Christy McComick ）则获准辞职。一位白宫随后证实了该消息。 此外，第4名委员，共和党人唐纳德·帕尔默（Donald Palmer）已于今年4月主动离职，前往传统基金会（Heritage Foundation）任职。 白宫官员在被回应剩余委员被解除职务事宜时表示：“总统作为行政部门首脑，保留罢免那些可能与保障美国选举安全和确保每一张合法选票都被计入这一重要任务不完全一致的人员的权利。” 白宫官员还表示：“斯劳特案的裁决为总统提供了先例。” 他指的是美国最高法院在6月下旬以6比3的投票结果裁定，特朗普总统有权解雇联邦贸易委员会委员路易丝·斯劳特（Louise Slaughter)。这项裁决赋予了现任总统特朗普及其未来的美国总统权力，可以罢免那些本应独立运作、却在联邦政府行政部门下履行职能的联邦机构成员。 一位白宫官员表示：“本届政府从一开始就与所有机构和地方合作伙伴携手合作，保障选举免受舞弊和滥用，并投资建设强大的基础设施，以支持这项使命，尤其是在中期选举中。”…
7月9日伊朗德黑兰讯，伊朗今天向海湾地区邻国发射了一连串导弹和无人机，将美国在海湾盟国再次拖入美伊战争的漩涡中心。此次美国与伊朗军事冲突的再次大规模爆发，令美伊和平谈判陷入僵局。 伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）表示，伊朗袭击目标是海湾地区的美国军事基地，旨在回应特朗普总统最新一轮针对伊朗目标的袭击。 伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队在一份由官方媒体发布的声明中表示：“伊斯兰战士不会对杀害儿童的美国军队的侵略行为置之不理。” 该声明称，伊朗军方首次宣布已准备好15000枚洲际弹道导弹，以应对即将到来的美国攻击。如果伊朗遭到攻击，美国在中东的基地及其所有利益，包括特拉维夫，都将被彻底摧毁。 伊朗国家媒体报道称，美国对伊朗东北部德黑兰-马什哈德铁路桥发动的一次轰动性袭击造成的损坏已经修复，该桥将可供客运列车使用。 伊朗外长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇（Abbas Araghchi）分别致电阿曼、土耳其和沙特阿拉伯外长，讨论中东局势。他还与巴基斯坦陆军元帅阿西姆·穆尼尔（Asim Munir）通了电话，穆尼尔一直是美伊两国在断断续续的和平谈判中的关键调解人。 此次冲突的爆发有可能破坏美伊双方在解决美伊战争方面取得的艰难进展。这场战争始于2月28日美以联军对伊朗发动的先发制人的空袭。最初的空袭导致伊朗高级领导人哈梅内伊（Ali Khamenei）丧生，并摧毁了其军事基础设施。然而，伊朗随即加强了对霍尔木兹海峡石油运输的管制以示报复，导致全球能源市场急剧动荡，油价上涨。 6月中旬，美伊双方签署了一份谅解备忘录，呼吁停止战斗并重新开放霍尔木兹海峡。然而，伊朗似乎决心保留对该水道的部分控制权，这使得有关伊朗核计划的最后技术阶段谈判变得更加复杂。 伊朗伊斯兰协商会议主席兼首席谈判代表穆罕默德·巴格尔·加利巴夫（Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf）表示，伊朗不会退让。 加利巴夫在接受媒体采访时说：“美国仍然没有吸取教训，欺凌和背信弃义的代价已经不再是免费的。我直说了吧：如果你先动手，就会遭到反击。”…
7月9日佛州棕榈滩讯，位于美国佛罗里达州棕榈滩国际机场（Palm Beach International Airport）已正式更名为唐纳德·特朗普总统国际机场（President Donald J. Trump International Airport)，这是美国历史上首次以在任总统的名字命名机场。 美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）宣布，自今天起，该机场将正式更名为唐纳德·特朗普总统国际机场。 原名棕榈滩国际机场在其发布的在线常见问题解答中表示，“标识、品牌和面向公众的宣传材料的更新将分阶段进行。” 作为更名的一部分，该机场的美国联邦航空总署（FAA）位置标识符将从PBI更改为DJT。国际航空运输协会（IATA）代码的变更将于8月18日生效。 包括美国联合航空公司和达美航空公司在内的美国主要航空公司已于今天开始在其预订页面上使用新的机场代码DJT，但搜索航班的旅客仍然可以使用旧的PBI代码查找机场。 现在有十几家航空公司运营着飞往该机场的航班，其中包括美国国内的几家主要航空公司：达美航空、美国联合航空公司、美国航空和西南航空公司。 此次更名源于佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯今年早些时候签署的一项法案，该法案旨在更改机场名称。此举随后获得了美国联邦航空管理局的批准。该机场表示，此次更名预计耗资550万美元。…
7月8日土耳其安卡拉讯，正在土耳其首都安卡拉出席北约峰会的美国总统特朗普今天表示，与伊朗的临时协议已“结束”，但他将允许谈判继续进行。特朗普总统在回答美伊停火状态时说：“对我来说，我认为已经结束了。” 他还在将该国的领导称为“病态”时补充说：“与他们打交道只是浪费时间。” 他说：“如果他们愿意，我会让我们出色的谈判者继续讲话，但我看不到。我不喜欢这些人，你知道。” 特朗普总统在土耳其安卡拉举行的为期两天的北约峰会的间隙多次发声，并在美国再次袭击伊朗后数小时后表示，这是美国对伊朗袭击霍尔木兹海峡油轮的报复。 特朗普总统强调说：“如果再次发生，它将变得更糟！” 他指的是伊朗7月6日和7日袭击在霍尔木兹海峡通行三艘商业油轮。 特朗普总统在社交媒体平台“真实社交”上发帖警告伊朗，并发布了一些未注明日期的夜间军事行动的视频。 在美国宣布对伊朗实施军事打击的2天之后，伊朗国家电视台报道了几个城市的爆炸事件。 与伊朗革命卫队有联系的半官方媒体FARS新闻社报道，在伊朗南部港口城市恰巴哈尔（Chabahar）和科纳拿克（Konarak)，以及西部海湾港口城市布什尔（Bushehr）都发生了爆炸。 布什尔是伊朗的一个重要城市，因为它包含伊朗唯一的商业核电站。 它也位于伊朗的重要石油出口中心哈尔克岛（Kharg）附近。 美国中央司令部（CENTCOM）在当地时间7月8日晚上宣布，美国对伊朗发动了新一轮军事打击。该司令部在社交媒体上说，它“开始对伊朗进行更多打击，以进一步降低其威胁霍尔木兹海峡航行自由的能力。” 此举是回应伊朗袭击霍尔木兹海峡商业油轮进行报复性打击后的第二天。 该司令部在声明中还说：“美国对最近不合理的侵略商业运输和民用人员自由航行的重要国际水道负责。” 伊朗官方媒体今天报道说，当地时间7月8日晚在伊朗南部港口城市阿巴斯（Bandar…
7月8日华盛顿讯，今年夏天，美国人邮寄信件的成本将再次上涨。此前，美国联邦监管机构批准了美国邮政总局（USPS）新一轮的价格上涨，其中包括永久邮票价格上涨4美分。 美国邮政监管委员会（PRC）今天批准了美国邮政总局提出的邮件服务价格调整方案，新费率将于7月12日生效。 据美国邮政总局称，一级邮件永久邮票的价格将从78美分上涨至82美分，而邮件服务整体价格将上涨约4.8%。其他获批的价格调整包括：美国境内明信片：61美分至65美分；1盎司（约28克）信件（需贴邮资标签)：74美分至78美分；国际明信片：1.70美元至1.75美元；1盎司（约28克）国际信件：1.70美元至1.75美元。 美国邮政总局还表示，单件信件每增加1盎司（约28克）的额外费用仍为29美分。此次涨价实属必要，因为其仍在努力应对不断上涨的运营成本和长期存在的财务挑战。 美国邮政总局在今年4月份提出涨价时表示：“在邮政服务面临严重的财政危机和持续上涨的运营成本之际，邮政服务正在利用一切可用手段……以确保我们能够继续履行普遍服务义务，为美国公众服务。” 美国邮政通常不接受纳税人资助用于运营支出，而是依靠邮资、产品和服务的收入。尽管邮政监管委员会批准了此次费率调整，但同时也警告称，美国邮政总局仍面临诸多长期挑战，包括邮件量下降、服务质量问题以及财务前景恶化。该委员会表示，由于此次涨价符合现行法律，因此没有法律依据拒绝此次涨价。 邮政监管委员会还指出，美国邮政总局已基本用尽了现行法规下一级邮件定价权限，但仍对市场主导邮件量的大幅下降、持续存在的服务问题以及邮政署的整体财务状况表示担忧。该委员会正在审查现行的费率制定体系是否符合国会的目标。涨价前购买的永久邮票，无论何时使用，仍可用于邮寄标准的一盎司信件。
7月8日密歇根州奥本山讯，菲亚特（Fiat）正将其小型电动汽车“米老鼠”（Topolino ）投放美国市场，为美国人提供一款双座社区电动汽车，其价格低于许多二手车，但最高时速仅为19英里/小时。“米老鼠”于2023年在欧洲首发。它的名字在意大利语中意为“米老鼠”，源自菲亚特上世纪30年代一款最著名的车型。 菲亚特表示，这款名为“米老鼠”的电动车长8英尺（约2.4米)，车重1073磅（约485公斤)，最高时速仅为19英里/小时（约30公里/小时)。这款电动车配备5.4千瓦时的锂离子电池，续航里程可达46英里（约74公里)，使用2.3千瓦的交流充电器，大约5小时即可充满电。 总部位于美国密歇根州奥本山的斯特兰蒂斯北美公司（Stellantis）旗下品牌菲亚特7月7日宣布，“米老鼠”车型现已可通过美国指定经销商订购，起价为13995美元，加上目的地费用后为14985美元。尽管价格低廉，但目前汽车价格仍然居高不下。 据美国线上汽车资源网站（Edmunds）的数据显示，2026年第一季度，三年车龄的二手车平均价格为31548美元，是历史第二高的第一季度价格，仅次于2022年第一季度创下的32164美元的峰值。但如此低廉的价格也并非没有限制。 菲亚特表示，这款车的设计用途是“远离拥挤街道”，例如私人住宅区、度假村、沿海地区以及适合高尔夫球车行驶的社区。到今年夏季末，车主还可以免费加装一套改装套件，将“米老鼠”改装成符合联邦法规的低速车辆（LSV）。 此次升级将使“米老鼠”的最高时速提升至25英里/小时，并允许其在限速35英里/小时或以下的公共道路上行驶。 菲亚特在一份公告中表示：“低速车辆（LSV）是一种受联邦法规监管的合法上路机动车辆，其行驶速度可在20至25英里/小时之间。与仅限在高尔夫球场行驶的标准高尔夫球车不同，低速车辆可以在限速35英里/小时或以下的公共道路上合法行驶。” 这款车将提供两种车身样式：“米老鼠”(Topolino）和“米老鼠高领衫” （Topolino Dolcevita)。配置包括维斯达（Verde Vita）车身颜色、14英寸复古轮毂盖、LED 大灯、铰链式车窗、数字仪表盘、手机支架、挂钩和行李空间。 该车型的标准版配备全景天窗，而“米老鼠高领衫”则在此基础上增加了可卷起的软顶和敞开式车门。有报道称，菲亚特此次在美国上市，除了500e车型之外，又增添了一款电动车型，旨在拓展其在美国的客户群体。