Statement by Commissioner Vekich in Support of Commissioner Bentzel’s Assessment of the People’s Republic of China’s Control of Container and Intermodal Chassis Manufacturing

On March 30, 2022, FMC Commissioner Carl W. Bentzel released his Assessment of the People’s Republic of China’s Control of Container and Intermodal Chassis Manufacturing.  The report provides an in-depth analysis of container and chassis manufacturing and identifies areas in which we need to focus to ensure sufficient equipment is available to meet our national interests.

I fully support and appreciate Commissioner’s Bentzel’s extensive efforts and look forward to working together to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect the supply chain from undue external influences.  As Commissioner Bentzel notes, substantial subsidies provided by the Chinese government have resulted in 86% of chassis and 95% of containers being manufactured in China.  Meanwhile, our exporters are having an increasingly difficult time getting their goods to market, often due to a lack of available equipment.

It is important that as a nation we have the resources available to respond to supply chain disruptions and a workforce that is trained to address these changing market conditions.  Although there is more to be done, we need to stimulate a manufacturing base in the U.S. that would be able to produce the equipment that is essential to meet the needs of our exporters.  We need to get the job done.

Max M. Vekich is a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The thoughts and comments expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Commission.