Fireworks Shipper Keeps Prices Sky-High, Class Action Says

One man controls 70 percent of all Chinese fireworks imported into the U.S. and he uses that control to raise prices on shipping rates and block competitors, an antitrust class action filed Dec. 31 alleges.

Ding Yan Zhong controls two companies that dominate the importation of Chinese fireworks: Shanghai Huayang International Logistics Co. Ltd. and Firstrans International Co., the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California says.

Fireworks Lady & Co. LLC, which sells fireworks in the U.S., sued Firstrans on behalf of a direct purchaser class it says numbers in the thousands.

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