Federal Probe Targets Chinese Shipping Container Giants Over Alleged Pre-Pandemic Price Fixing
Federal authorities are investigating whether Chinese companies deliberately restricted production of shipping containers before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to sources with knowledge of the probe.
The Investigation
Investigators are examining a handful of Chinese firms that control the majority of unrefrigerated shipping container manufacturing globally. In late 2019, the companies allegedly slowed production by limiting employee work hours, which investigators believe indicated a conspiracy to cut supply and inflate prices.
Several Chinese executives have been indicted. The Department of Justice was expected to unseal the indictment Tuesday, March 10, 2025.
One Chinese container manufacturing executive was taken into custody in France about three weeks ago and remains detained; extraditing to the United States is intended.
Timing and Political Context
The action comes days after President Trump returned from Beijing, his first presidential visit to China since 2017. Trump announced agreements by China to purchase at least 200 Boeing aircraft, more U.S. oil, soybeans, and other agricultural products.
Trump administration officials sought to keep the case from becoming public until after President Trump's summit with China in early March 2025.
Pandemic Supply Chain Disruption
China reported the first cluster of COVID-19 cases in December 2019. The U.S. International Trade Commission reported that in the second half of 2020, the number of shipping containers in circulation was "insufficient to meet customer storage demands and higher than anticipated consumer demand for imports."
In the first half of 2020, demand for containers dropped, along with orders for new production; in the second half, U.S. demand for imports grew rapidly.
Related COVID-19 Investigations
Several U.S. attorneys' offices, including Maryland's, have conducted investigations related to the pandemic's origins.
- Last month, the first COVID-19 origins case emerged: former NIAID employee David Morens was indicted for allegedly evading FOIA requests; he pleaded not guilty.
- Outgoing President Biden preemptively pardoned former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci.
- The Director's Initiatives Group (DIG) has been involved in investigating COVID-19 origins.
- A senior CIA operations officer alleged to Congress that the agency obstructed investigative efforts and monitored DIG personnel's computer activity.