A recent import ban has stalled some aftermarket auto parts manufacturers, but at least one is fighting back.
Keystone Automotive Industries Inc., a Pomona aftermarket auto parts maker recently bought by Chicago-based LKQ Corp., has pledged to appeal a recent decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission barring the importing of some truck parts.
Keystone, along with Carson-based U.S. Auto Parts Network Inc. and four Taiwanese parts makers, was found in December to be violating patents held by Ford Motor Co. on its F-150 truck, leading the trade commission in June to ban companies from importing the parts.
Keystone, which along with the other companies unsuccessfully sought to have the trade commission set aside its ban, has now announced it will appeal the decision to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We intend to vigorously defend our position on behalf of our shareholders and consumers,” said Keystone Chief Executive Rick Keister in a prepared statement.
Keystone said the parts included in the ban constitute only about 0.1 percent of its fiscal 2007 sales, but others are worried that the ruling could have far-reaching consequences in the aftermarket parts industry.
In a July 31 letter to the trade commission, a number of insurance and auto parts trade groups said, “If Ford is permitted to leverage its existing design patent rights to control markets in interoperable aftermarket products, competition cannot flourish.”
The ban, which will last until the patents run out in 14 years, applies to parts including grilles, bumpers, headlights and side-view mirrors. The F-150 has been a leader in truck sales for years and was the eighth most popular vehicle in Los Angeles in the past year.
Local Shipper Bought
LXSI Services Inc., a Compton air and expedited shipping services provider, announced last week it has been acquired by a global logistics powerhouse.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., a $6 billion transportation and logistics company based in Eden Prairie, Minn., bought the company with an eye toward expanding its shipping capabilities in several key industries, including the medical, financial and entertainment markets.
“Our customers have shown a growing demand for air and expedited services, and LXSI brings management depth, skilled employees and domestic air and expedited knowledge all of which will be necessary for us to expand this service into a core offering,” said Mark Walker, vice president of C.H. Robinson, in a release.
LXSI was established in 2003 and has been named to several publications’ lists of the fastest growing companies.
Container Volume Gains
Despite some worries about the volume of goods moving through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports earlier this year, things seem to be back on track for now.
An 11 percent gain over July 2006 in the number of cargo containers moving in and out of the Port of Long Beach more than offset a 5 percent drop in cargo volume at its sister port in Los Angeles. In total, the two ports saw an increase of just over 1 percent in goods, with more than 1.3 million containers moving through San Pedro Bay last month.
What’s more, the combined year-to-date totals are up 2 percent for the ports.
A series of month-to-month drops in container volume earlier this year raised some eyebrows, but the ports have made up for those losses as it reaches its holiday rush which typically runs from late spring until early fall when retailers import products in anticipation of the Christmas rush.
Nonetheless, import growth has declined from previous years, due to a weakening U.S. economy and a soft housing market, said Paul Bingham, an economist with Waltham, Mass.-based Global Insight Inc.
“We’ve seen a slowing of imports compared to the last several years,” Bingham said. “It’s a reflection of a decline of the dollar against most of our major trade partner countries.”
Car Firm Snubs L.A.
Public squabbling has led a rail car maker to move its planned assembly operations for more than 100 new Metrolink cars from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.
Rotem Co., a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co., said it has decided to move the operations and the 200 new jobs it will create to the East Coast, even though the cars will be transported back to Los Angeles once they are completed.
The deal is part of a $305 million contract to build 107 cars for Metrolink, a southern California commuter rail service.
Local Councilman Ed Reyes objected to the proposal, slated for Taylor Yard, because he wants to build a community park there.
Staff reporter Richard Clough can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251, or at
[email protected]
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