Lead battery supplies in the US could be the first to be caught in the crossfire of an escalating trade dispute with China, BEST Battery Briefing has learned.
Lead companies in the US are already assessing the likely impact of President Donald Trump’s order to include “lead-acid batteries of any kind” in a proposed list of $200 billion worth of Chinese imports subject to tariffs of 10%.
Now Farid Ahmed, principal lead markets analyst at metal and materials research consultancy Wood Mackenzie, has told BBB the US could come under pressure in trying to meet domestic demand for lead batteries if the trade row escalates.
“According to trade statistics, last year the US imported over 27 million lead batteries of all types from China, worth over US$400 million,” Ahmed said. “Over the past 10 years, the value of this inward trade has averaged around US$380m.”
“However, of the 2017 total, only 2.2m were reported to be starter batteries— which would almost certainly be destined as replacement units rather than original equipment. The remainder would have included motive power batteries for industrial equipment, floor scrubbers and golf carts, plus many smaller batteries for alarm systems and specialist uses that are relatively expensive to produce in the West.”
Ahmed said data from Battery Council International shows around 90 million starter batteries were shipped in the US last year, “so one imagines the industry could comfortably absorb the loss of around 2m imported SLI replacement batteries— although at a higher price to the battery buyer”.
But he added: “It is more questionable how quickly and at what additional cost the US industry could fulfil the domestic market’s requirement for the remaining 25m units imported.”
A spokesperson for East Penn Manufacturing said the firm is reviewing the relevant raw materials and finished products that are on the proposed new tariff list. “It would be premature for us to comment on the affects that this may have on our business, the industry, and consumer until we properly assess all of the specific implications,” the spokesperson said.
An Exide Technologies spokesperson told BBB last week the company did not anticipate the US moves would “have a material impact on our business”— but said it too was “continuing to monitor and evaluate the proposed tariffs”.
