US firms filed 2 suits over alleged shipping-container price cartel
What's new: The cases seek treble damages after prosecutors alleged the companies controlled about 95% of dry-container output.
Two US companies have filed class-action lawsuits in federal court in California against Singamas, China International Marine Containers, CXIC Group Containers and several executives, including Singapore shipping businessman Teo Siong Seng, over an alleged scheme to fix dry shipping-container prices. The suits, filed June 2 and June 9 by C.A. Spalding Company and Daybreak Express, follow a US Justice Department indictment unsealed in May. Prosecutors alleged the manufacturers restricted output from November 2019 to at least January 2024 by limiting production hours, monitoring lines with cameras and avoiding new factories. The indictment said the companies made about 95% of the world’s standard dry containers, and prices rose from roughly $1,600 in 2019 to $3,500 in 2021.