Remanufacturing Report from the USITC

US International Trade Commission has published its first ever remanufacturing report, providing an overview of the US industry during the last three years.

According to the report, the overall value of US remanufacturing industry increased 15%, accounting for at least $43.0 billion. Top aftermarket segments include: aerospace, consumer products, electrical apparatus, IT products, etc.

IT remanufacturing is estimated to have increased by 17 percent from $4.4 billion in 2009 to $5.2 billion in 2011.

Although US remain the largest player in the whole remanufacturing industry, it is a net importer in IT segment. Remanufacturers export only about 10% of production. Mexico by far is the leading supplier of remanufactured IT products to the U.S. market.

The IT remanufacturing industry is also considered “fragmented”, as there are estimated to be fewer than 500 firms that employ more than 20 workers. As a result, remanufacturing reportedly accounts for a very small fraction of large OEM operations, less than 0.5% of total sales of IT products in the country.

USITC estimates around 2,000 firms in the printer cartridges remanufacturing industry. Many of the players are small companies, but have to compete directly against the OEMs.