U.S. Probes Claims Chinese Firms Restricted Container Production Before COVID, CBS Says

Federal investigators are probing whether Chinese container manufacturing giants deliberately throttled global shipping container production just before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a CBS News report that could reignite concerns over China’s dominance of critical maritime supply chains.

Sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News that U.S. authorities are examining whether several Chinese firms — which collectively control most of the world’s dry shipping container production — conspired in late 2019 to restrict output by cutting worker hours and slowing factory operations.

Investigators reportedly believe the production slowdown may have artificially tightened global supply and helped drive container prices