In September 2021, A. P. Moller-Maersk agreed to sell their subsidiary Maersk Container Industry A/S (MCI) to China International Marine Containers Group (CIMC) in a $987 million transaction.  Maersk, the parent company, negotiated the sale as part of a strategy to divest businesses not directly involved in transport and logistic services.

The transaction would have placed more than 90 percent of production of insulated containers among three major companies in China, all with state connections.  Opposition from the U.S. DOJ and the Bundeskartellamt (State Anti-monopoly Agency) of Germany led to China International Marine Containers Group abandoning the purchase of the Maersk business and facilities located in Xingdao, China.

Assistant Attorney General, Jonathan Kanter, Head of the Antitrust Division, stated, “The acquisition of MCI by CIMC threatened to harm aspects of the U.S. economy, leading to higher prices, lower quality and less resiliency in global supply chains.”  He added, “The deal would have substantially increased the risk of coordination among the remaining suppliers in the marketplace, most of whom would have been aligned through common ownership and related alliances.”