ACMA has launched a new initiative to update how the composites industry is counted. If successful, this initiative will help members quantify our benefit to the country and better track international supply chains. The ACMA government relations team, which is developing this program, is looking at inputs for composites manufacturing and products.
For more than a decade, ACMA has noted that U.S. trade statistics and U.S. Census economic data do not appropriately track composites. At its May meeting, the ACMA Board of Directors approved the creation of the Data Clarity Task Force to address this issue so that the composites industry more fully benefits from U.S. government statistical programs.
The work will be in two stages. First, ACMA will propose new 10-digit statistical reporting numbers, sometimes called 10-digit tariff codes, for several products. Interested parties, such as trade associations, can request these statistical reporting numbers through a process at the U.S. International Trade Commission twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring.
Creating these codes will provide a better understanding of what is imported and exported for our industry. The products identified thus far as likely candidate are:
- Carbon fiber
- Chopped strand glass fiber
- Glass fiber rovings
- Unsaturated polyester resin
- Composite bathtubs and shower stalls
- Fiberglass rebar
Trade data does not differentiate between different grades of carbon fiber. This makes it difficult to determine why imports may have significantly different prices per kilogram as capacity grows in other countries, such as China. Similarly, glass fiber chopped strand and rovings can be further divided to make data clearer. By creating more specific categories, our industry will better understand our market.
Unsaturated polyester resin, bath and shower products and rebar all face a different challenge. These products are grouped with other products that are not related to the composites industry, making it impossible to accurately determine the amount of trade occurring. Unsaturated polyester resin is in a category with numerous other resin systems, and the finished products are grouped in with plastics, making the trade statistics uninformative. Creating a “breakout” – a category specific to the relevant composite materials – will provide more useful information.
The second phase of this project will focus on statistics related to U.S. economic activity collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The census groups U.S. manufacturers and other businesses into categories called the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). Like the situation with resins and fiberglass products, composites manufacturers are often grouped with single-use plastics or other materials, meaning the economic data collected through the NAICS process does not provide meaningful insight into the U.S. composites industry. Similar to the process we have started with trade data, ACMA will work to create better categories under this program. Unfortunately, the next review of NAICS categories will not occur until 2027.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like to participate on the task force.
Dan Neumann is vice president of government relations at ACMA. Email comments to dneumann@acmanet.org.
