The Economic Impact of Imitation Parts

Imitation parts account for approximately 18% of the $9 BILLION annual market for replacement crash parts. This amounts to somewhere near $1.62 BILLION yearly. Even if one were to assume a 50% markup was being realized by the importers of these aftermarket parts – and that markup was being retained by companies within our country, that would mean we were sending nearly $1.08 BILLION overseas.
(The actual mark up on these parts is more likely to be closer to 33%, meaning we are actually sending closer to $1.22 BILLION dollars into foreign economies)

Recently in the mid-west, steel plants have closed or cut back on their work force. While the entire blame for these layoffs and closures can not be placed on foreign manufacturers of automotive replacement parts, one must wonder how much impact these overseas companies have had and just how much they have contributed to the downfall of several local economies. As if it is not bad enough that the majority of our electronics come from other countries, must we really contribute further by allowing crash replacement parts to come from outside our country as well?

Many vehicles can be seen with a bumper sticker that says “Buy American, the job you save may be your own”. There is a great amount of truth in this simple slogan.

With our current unemployement and welfare rates, can we really afford to make our overseas competitors wealthy? $1.07 Billion (or $1.22 Billion) is a lot of money – money that would better serve all of us if it were to remain in our economy.