Chassis builder CIE Manufacturing produces container chassis and sources frames from an affiliate in Thailand. (CIE Manufacturing)
U.S.-based manufacturers of intermodal chassis were materially injured by imports of chassis and subassemblies from Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam, the U.S. International Trade Commission said.
A coalition led by Stoughton Trailers and Cheetah Chassis Corp. in a Feb. 26 complaint filed with both ITC and the Department of Commerce accused manufacturers in the three countries of selling their products at below market prices and receiving anticompetitive government support. In a preliminary determination issued April 14, ITC concluded that there was a reasonable indication to support these claims.
Specifically, the complainants allege producers in Mexico and Thailand receive benefits from domestic subsidies and cross-border subsidies from the Chinese government. The coalition wants the U.S. government to slap 32.37% antidumping duties on Mexican chassis, 234.06% duties on Thai chassis and 304.68% duties on Vietnamese chassis.
The two complaints target different allegations. The Commerce Department is investigating whether producers or exporters are dumping and/or receiving unfair subsidies, while the ITC investigates whether the domestic industry is injured or if a threat of injury exists because of the potentially dumped or subsidized imports.
A preliminary determination from Commerce’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance on the countervailing duties complaint against Mexican and Thai exporters is due by May 22. A preliminary determination on the antidumping complaint against Mexican, Thai and Vietnamese exporters is due by Aug. 5.
A final determination on the petition is not expected until early in 2026.
According to U.S. import data, the value of imports of chassis and subassemblies from the three countries at the center of the complaint totaled almost $1 billion in 2024. Of this total, more than $950 million in imports 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 argues that domestic manufacturers have suffered declines in production, shipments and employment as a result of the alleged business practices.
Wahlin
“We are encouraged by the ITC’s findings that Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand unfairly dumped chassis into the U.S. market. We look forward to the results of the Commerce Department’s investigation with the hope that antidumping and countervailing duties will be applied to these unfairly imported chassis,” Stoughton CEO Bob Wahlin told Transport Topics on April 23 by email.
The coalition included a long list of companies — most of them in Mexico — who the complainants believe could be participating in the alleged practices.
The 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. One of the Thai entities outlined in the 2025 petition is Dee Siam Manufacturing, which was previously known as CIMC Vehicle.
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 antidumping and countervailing tariffs.
The new petition alleges 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.”
A spokesman for CIE declined to comment on the ITC preliminary determination April 24, citing the ongoing investigations. CIE previously told TT the company uses no Chinese content.
