Chassis Producers Seek Tariffs on Mexican, Asian Peers
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U.S.-based manufacturers of intermodal chassis are once again challenging overseas chassis makers over allegations of unfair business practices.
A coalition led by Stoughton Trailers and Cheetah Chassis Corp. on Feb. 26 accused chassis and subassembly manufacturers from Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam of selling their products at less than fair value or receiving government subsidies. In a petition filed with the Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission, the companies allege that producers in Mexico and Thailand receive unfair benefits from domestic subsidies and cross-border subsidies from the Chinese government. The coalition wants the federal government to impose 32.37% anti-dumping duties on Mexican chassis, 234.06% duties on Thai chassis and 304.68% duties on Vietnamese chassis.
Stoughton told Transport Topics the petition was intended to ensure fair trade in the chassis segment of the trailer market.
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“As a member of the U.S. Coalition of Chassis Manufacturers, Stoughton Trailers is committed to ensure fair trade for this critical supply chain product,” CEO Bob Wahlin said in a March 6 email. “Stoughton is dedicated to U.S. manufacturing, U.S. jobs along with growth and prosperity of this country and the businesses within. We are committed to root out and hold accountable anyone who manipulates and tries to harm U.S. manufacturing, labor and in turn our great country as a whole.”
According to U.S. import data, the value of imports of chassis and sub-assemblies from the three countries at the center of the complaint totaled almost $1 billion in 2024. Of this total, more than $950 million arrived from Mexico, while imports valued at over $26.85 million were shipped from Thailand and more than $18.57 million from Vietnam. Chassis imports from Mexico rose to 40,550 in 2024 from 30,560 in 2022 and to 824 from 714 from Vietnam, the data shows. Over the period, imports from Thailand fell to 596 from 1,325.
The petition alleges that domestic manufacturers have suffered declines in production, shipments and employment as a result of the alleged business practices.
“The U.S. industry has experienced substantial injury by these new sources of subject imports,” said Robert DeFrancesco, a partner at law firm Wiley and counsel to the petitioners. “It is imperative that Commerce and the USITC apply our long-standing trade laws to remedy these unfair trade practices.”
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The petitioners included a long list of companies — most of them in Mexico — that they believe may be participating in the alleged unfair business practices. This petition follows one filed in 2020 by a coalition including Stoughton that made similar allegations against China International Marine Containers, the parent company of CIE Manufacturing. Among the Thai entities outlined in the new petition is Dee Siam Manufacturing, which was formerly known as CIMC Vehicle.
The new petition maintains that while CIMC has shifted U.S.-dedicated production activities from China to Thailand, the company “performs largely the same assembly operations in the United States as it did in the previous review.”
CIE responded immediately, warning customers that the petition “threatens to significantly impact the availability of quality intermodal equipment in the United States market.”
In a Feb. 25 statement, the company said, “We are required to once again go through the tedious process of defending ourselves from baseless allegations. In this instance, this trade action would not only impact ourselves but also other significant participants in the intermodal space.”
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It added, “It’s disappointing that a small group of companies can continuously weaponize trade regulations for their personal gain, at the expense of the industry as a whole.”
In a March 5 interview with TT, CIE CEO Trevor Ash added, “They just throw these fictitious allegations at us. There should be some evidence and facts. There’s no threshold. There’s no recourse. You cannot go after them for a failed investigation. This is a warning to any company doing business in the U.S.”
In the wake of the 2020 complaint, Commerce in May 2021 increased tariffs on Chinese chassis imports by 200%. In May 2024 CIMC was cleared of evading anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs.
CIE Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ben Evans told TT March 5 that the company uses no Chinese content. He said the chassis frames at the center of the new complaint are manufactured in Thailand and all subassembly components are sourced in the U.S. and Canada, he said.
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Vietnamese intermodal chassis exports are also under scrutiny in Canada, with the Canada Border Services Agency launching an investigation into container chassis imports by British Columbia-based Ocean Trailer.
Commerce has until March 18 to decide whether to initiate the anti-dumping duty investigation. From there, it would have up to 140 days to make a preliminary determination on whether dumping is occurring, and up to 75 days from that determination to make a final decision. It faces a shorter timeline for the countervailing duty investigation, but that effort was also set to begin by March 18.
The International Trade Commission initiated an investigation Feb. 28, and is set to make a determination based on its findings by April 14.
