Stoughton Files Dumping Complaint Over Chinese Containers
U.S. equipment manufacturer Stoughton Trailers said it has filed an unfair trade petition that charges Chinese manufacturers of 53-foot domestic containers with dumping their equipment at unreasonably low prices in the U.S. market.
Stoughton made its filing with the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission, citing “material competitive injury as a result of these unfair trade practices.”
“China has ‘dumped’ domestic container products into the U.S. market at prices that are well below fair value,” Stoughton Trailers President Robert Wahlin said in a press release, which stated that Chinese manufacturers build 95% of domestic containers being used in the United States.
Stoughton’s press release did not name particular manufacturers, and the company did not immediately provide a copy of its petition. It is asking for an investigation and action by the U.S. government to apply anti-dumping duties, which it said were needed to restore “competitive parity” in the U.S. market.
“The goal in filing this petition is to ensure that all of the participants in this important market — Stoughton Trailers as well as our Chinese competitors — have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field,” the statement said.
The Stoughton, Wis.-based company said it has the only installed manufacturing capacity to build U.S. domestic containers. Freight railroads and truckers use 53-foot domestic containers for intermodal service.
