SIMIC

The move would significantly raise acquisition costs for chassis providers just as an Asian import surge makes the equipment scarce, reports IHS Media.

A 38 per cent duty has been collected since December 28, but the agency also declared it was raising the amount to 39.14 per cent.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has the final say on whether the duty will remain in place.

If enacted, US chassis providers such as TRAC Intermodal, DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, Milestone Equipment Holdings, and Triton could face additional costs of US$6,000 to $10,000 for each chassis manufactured by China International Marine Containers (CIMC).

The 39.14 per cent would be placed on top of the 25 per cent tariff previously imposed under the Trump administration.

A $10,000 chassis would add another $3,914 to the cost, on top of the $2,500 tariff.

"The evidence on the record that the International Trade Commission collected demonstrates that not only are those (Chinese) chassis subsidised, but they undersell the domestic industry by a wide margin," said attorney Robert DeFrancisco.

TRAC Intermodal, one of the top three US chassis providers, declared that supply is a problem.

"We do not import chassis from China and elsewhere because they are cheaper as a result of dumping or subsidies. We import chassis because we have to, we have no choice," said TRAC Intermodal chief operating officer Val Noel.

"I have lost track of how many times our company has gone to a US producer seeking 800 or more chassis within the next two or three months only to be told by the manufacturers it can only supply a portion of the requested chassis. Who can do business on that basis?" said Mr Val Noel.