If you purchased a car, truck, or agricultural/construction equipment shipped from overseas between 2008 and 2013, you may have paid inflated charges for shipment to the United States.

Government agencies in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan are investigating a potential price-fixing cartel in the vehicle shipping industry in 2012.

These investigations reveal that, dating back to at least 2008, vehicle carrier companies conspired to increase prices for their services and eliminate competition in the marketplace. The inflated shipping costs were charged to automobile dealers and other entities in the chain of distribution, and passed on to individual consumers who purchased these vehicles in the United States.

The annual market for shipping cars, trucks, and other vehicles made in Asia and Europe to the United States is nearly a billion dollars.

Minami Tamaki attorneys Jack Lee, Derek Howard, and Sean Tamura-Sato filed a national class action in September 2013 action alleging illegal price-fixing by companies for the costs of shipping motor vehicles manufactured overseas to the United States. This nationwide litigation, filed simultaneously in several states, has been consolidated in a federal court in New Jersey (MDL No. 2471) for resolution.

For more information, or to find out whether you have a potential claim, please contact Minami Tamaki.