DETROIT — The Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association (MERA) and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) issued a statement yesterday welcoming the release today of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) report: “Remanufactured Goods: An Overview of the U.S. and Global Industries, Markets and Trade.”
The report — completed for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) — provides an overview of U.S. remanufactured goods industries and markets, including U.S. remanufacturing production and employment, estimates of U.S. and global trade in remanufactured goods and factors affecting trends in the trade of remanufactured goods.
Key Points from the report’s executive summary:
* The United States is the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of remanufactured goods. Remanufacturing is an industrial process that restores end-of-life goods to original working (“like new”) condition.
* Remanufacturing occurs across a diverse range of industry sectors in the United States, but is more common in sectors making capital-intensive, durable products that have relatively longer product life cycles.
* The top three industry sectors that account for remanufacturing activity in the United States are (ranked by production value) aerospace, heavy-duty and off-road (HDOR) equipment and motor vehicle parts.
Main findings and observations:
* U.S. production of remanufactured goods totaled at least $43 billion in 2011.
* U.S. remanufacturing activities supported at least 180,000 full-time jobs in the U.S. in 2011.
* U.S. exports of remanufactured goods totaled $11.7 billion in 2011, up 50 percent compared with 2009.
* Almost 40 percent of U.S. exports of remanufactured goods went to free trade agreement (FTA) partners.
* Foreign remanufacturers invested in the U.S. account for a notable portion of trade in remanufactured goods and cores.
* Trade in remanufactured goods is significantly affected by regulatory barriers in foreign markets, and the price and availability of cores.
* Although numerous factors affect the competitiveness of U.S. remanufacturers, the availability and relative price of cores is critical to all sectors and in all markets.
* The U.S. and Europe account for the bulk of global remanufacturing and trade, but other countries are developing their own remanufacturing industries.
* Foreign direct investment (FDI) in U.S. remanufacturing supported more than 22,000 full-time jobs in 2011; U.S. direct investment abroad was also substantial.
“MERA applauds Alan Treat and his team at the ITC on the release of this important report on the remanufacturing industry," said John Chalifoux, president and COO, MERA. “We will use the findings as we continue to promote the environmental, economic and product performance benefits of remanufactured products.”
In June 2011, MERA and MEMA supported the original request by USTR to initiate the study of the remanufacturing industry.
In February 2012, MEMA President and CEO Robert McKenna and several leading executives from MERA member companies testified before a USITC hearing in Washington, D.C., offering their expertise to the Commission.
“The ITC report will be a valuable tool as we look to further educate policymakers about the importance of the remanufacturing industry to the U.S. economy,” said Ann Wilson, senior vice president, government affairs, MEMA.
Click here to view the complete report.
