The Importance of Remanufacturing

The US is the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of remanufactured products. In its 2012 report, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimated that that the value of US remanufactured production had reached $43 billion by 2011, supporting approximately 180,000 full-time jobs (Remanufactured Goods: An Overview of the U.S. and Global Industries, Markets, and Trade. U.S. International Trade Commission, October 2012).

While the United States and Europe have accounted for the bulk of remanufacturing activities and associated trade for many years, other countries have been rapidly developing their own remanufacturing industries.

A lack of awareness of remanufacturing and its benefits by dealers, customers and policymakers remains a major obstacle to growth of the industry.

Some of the benefits of remanufacturing include:

• Conservation of materials (of increasing importance as raw materials become scarcer and more expensive)
• Reduced energy consumption during manufacturing
• Reduced waste (and associated disposal costs)
• Lower price for comparable quality