TABLE 9.-Spring clothespins: United States imports for consumption, by principal sources, 1935-40, 1943-51, and January–May 1952-Continued

Since spring clothespins are subject to a specific re te of duty, the value shown on the entry is not so closely checked as the value of a commodity having an ad valorem rate of duty. To a substantial extent the c. i. f. value instead of the foreign value was reported as the entered value. As a result the average entered value is somewhat higher than the actual foreign value but lower than the average c. i. f. value.

Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Sources of United States imports

Before World War II, Sweden was practically the only source of United States imports of spring clothespins. Imports from that country ceased during the war. In 1943 Mexico, which previously had not exported spring clothespins to the United States, became the most important source, and it retained the leadership through 1946 even though large quantities were imported from both Sweden and Denmark in both 1945 and 1946. Imports from Mexico declined sharply in 1947 and 1948, and no imports have been received from that source since 1948 (table 9).

In 1947 Denmark was the most important source of supply, but since 1948 Sweden has been the leading source, followed by Denmark. Other countries which have supplied small quantities of imports since 1949 include Japan, Czechoslovakia, Palestine, Austria, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Importers' stocks of spring clothespins

Complete data regarding total stocks of imported spring clothespins in the hands of the original importers are not available. Such data are available, however, for importers who accounted for 66 percent of total imports in 1950 and 82 percent in January-September 1951.

Stocks held by these concerns amounted to 47,747 gross on December 31, 1949, declined to 15,530 gross by June 30, 1950, and increased to a total of 62,800 gross by September 30, 1951 (table 10).

TABLE 10.-Spring clothespins: Stocks of imported clothespins held by certain importers, at the end of December 1949, June and December 1950, and June and September 1951

Source: Reports made to the U. S. Tariff Commission by importers who entered over 66 percent of total United States imports in 1950 and 82 percent of total imports in January-September 1951.

Markets for imported spring clothespins

The major portion of all spring-clothespin imports come from Sweden and Denmark and enter principally through east-coast, gulf, or west-coast seaports located in the general area where they will be distributed (table 11). Small quantities are imported through ports of entry located in the interior, chiefly Chicago.

The quantities entered through the various ports of entry (as listed in table 11) indicate that imported spring clothespins, like domestic pins, are generally sold in all areas. Entries through west-coast ports increased to 559,000 gross in 1951, or 44 percent of total imports.

(The increase-369,000 gross more than in 1947-tends to support the claims of the domestic producers that their sales in the western part of the country have declined as a result of import competition.)

TABLE 11.-Spring clothespins: United States imports, by geographic areas and principal customs districts, 1947-51

1 Includes St. Lawrence, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Philadelphia, and Virginia.

* Includes Minnesota, Michigan, Óhio, and Tennessee.

* Less than 0.5 percent.

Includes Florida, Mobile, Galveston. Laredo, and El Paso.

Includes San Diego, Oregon, and Washington.

Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

The industry in foreign countries

Spring clothespins are produced in a number of countries which have woodworking industries. Those which have exported to the United States in recent years include Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Palestine, Austria, and the Netherlands. Definite information with respect to productive capacity is available only for Sweden and Denmark, which were the most important suppliers of United States imports in the period 1947-51.

Sweden has a widespread woodworking industry which is well equipped to produce spring clothespins. About 6 concerns are of

substantial importance; 8 to 10 additional concerns produce small quantities of spring clothespins in connection with the manufacture of other miscellaneous wood products. The industry has the ability to adapt its production volume quickly to the fluctuations of export demand and apparently has a potential capacity of around 3 million gross annually. Production is estimated to have been not less than 1.5 million gross in each of the years 1949 and 1950.

Swedish spring clothespins have been manufactured in three sizes: small, medium, and large. The small-size pin, which is 23% inches long, is no longer being manufactured. The medium size, 27% inches long, is the popular size in Sweden and accounts for the bulk of current production. The large-size pin is 34 inches long and is produced chiefly for the export market. Current consumption of spring clothespins in Sweden is estimated to be between 200,000 and 300,000 gross annually. Exports go chiefly to the United States, but other export markets of some importance are the United Kingdom, Israel, India, South Africa, Egypt, and Australia.

Importing practices

Importers of spring clothespins usually handle a wide variety of products, but a few importers, including 2 or 3 of the more important ones, specialize in clothespins. The importers usually make purchases for their own account, but occasionally they may act as brokers or agents for foreign mills. In some instances imports are entered direct by a chain organization or other dealer who makes direct retail sales.

The number of importers in 1950 and 1951 ranged between 30 and 40. About 20 of these are regular importers who remain in the business from year to year. The bulk of the imports were entered by the 10 largest importers in both years. One United States manufacturer of spring clothespins imported substantial quantities in the period October to December 1951.

Kinds of clothespins imported

Prior to 1950 nearly all of the imports from Sweden consisted of small-size spring clothespins; imports from Denmark also consisted chiefly of small clothespins, but contained small quantities of the large size. A large part of the imported pins were in bulk, although there was an increasing trend toward packaged pins.

Since 1950 the proportion of total imports accounted for by large pins has greatly expanded, and an increased proportion of imports has been packaged. About 48 percent of the total imports in 1950 and January-September 1951 consisted of large-size pins, and 88 percent of the total consisted of packaged pins. The imports of bulk pins were almost wholly of the large size, the small-size pins imported unpackaged amounting to only about 3 percent of the total in 1950 and to less than 1 percent of the total in 1951.10

Spring clothespins are manufactured in Denmark by 3 concerns, 1 of which accounts for about 90 percent of the total output. Total

" Classed in this report as small size.

10 Based upon reports of importers who entered over 75 percent of total imports in each of the periods 1950 and January-September 1951.

capacity is estimated to be 900,000 gross annually. Total production was estimated to be 630,000 gross in 1949; 720,000 gross in 1950; and 600,000 gross in the first 11 months of 1951. The bulk of the output is exported; the United States and the United Kingdom are the chief export markets.

United States Requirements and Comparison of Production, Shipments, and Imports

Trend of United States consumption

Apparent consumption 11 of spring clothespins in the United States first exceeded 1 million gross in 1937 and 2 million gross in 1941. World War II interrupted both domestic production and imports, but in 1946 the total quantity marketed amounted to 4.2 million gross. The total declined to 3.6 million gross in 1947, but increased to nearly 4.9 million gross in 1950 and 4.2 million gross in 1951.

The total of 4.2 million gross marketed in 1946, and possibly the totals for 1947 and 1948, reflected the restocking of distribution channels that had been depleted by the wartime shut-downs, but this factor does not appear to have entered into the increase in apparent consumption in 1950 and 1951. The upward trend is attributable to increased population, to increased preference for spring pins as compared with common or slotted pins, and probably to increased use of home laundry machinery, and the use of spring clothespins for purposes other than hanging laundry.

Relation of domestic production and imports to total supply

Before 1930, imports of spring clothespins were equal to 8-12 percent of United States production; during 1930-41 the ratio was only about 1 percent or less. In 1937 and 1939, the latest representative years before the reduction of the duty in the trade agreement with Mexico, imports were equal to 1.4 and 0.5 percent, respectively, of production. In 1945 and 1946, during the period in which the domestic industry had not yet resumed full-scale operation after the wartime cessation of production, imports were about 3 times as large as domestic production. Since 1947, when the domestic industry resumed normal operation, imports have equaled about 25 to 40 percent of domestic production. In 1948 and 1949, the 2 years immediately preceding the binding of the rate of duty to Sweden and Denmark in the General Agreement, the ratio of imports to production was 33 percent and 24 percent respectively; in 1950 it was 27 percent, in 1951, 41 percent, and in 1952 (January-May), 32 percent (table 12).

Sales, or shipments, of clothespins by domestic producers were approximately equal to the quantities produced until the middle of 1948, and the ratio of imports to production was practically the same as the ratio of imports to sales. In 1948 the quantity sold was considerably smaller than the quantity produced; the ratio of imports to shipments was 38 percent, and to production, 33 percent. In 1949, shipments

"Apparent consumption is based on United States production plus imports for the period 1924-35, and on shipments of domestic producers plus imports for the period 1937-51. Exports of domestic spring clothespins are negligible.