Trade in the U.S. manufactured industrial tumbers surged by nearly 50 percent in 2016 to $1.4 billion, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Monday.
It’s the biggest year-over-year jump in the industry since 2008, when the tumbelers industry grew to $4.4 million, according to the BLS.
The boom in tumblers and related industries has been fueled by the U,S.
trade deficit with China.
Tumbler makers were also heavily impacted by the election of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to slap punitive tariffs on China.
In the first quarter of 2017, China exported $13.6 billion worth of American industrial tuffler parts to the U., up from $7.2 billion in the same quarter last year.
Tuffler makers such as Pinnacle and Lattice Manufacturing are struggling to make enough tumblines to keep up with demand and are facing rising competition from China, the world’s second-largest importer of the parts.
Some manufacturers are also looking to the future, looking to produce more of the smaller, more affordable tumbling machines.
In February, Pinnacle announced it would produce 100,000 tumblar machines.
Lattic’s CEO Michael Schulman told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Pinnacle’s move to produce smaller machines will “help us to remain competitive” in the burgeoning market.
The new, smaller machines, which will be produced in the Midwest, could be produced by the end of the year, he said.
While the new machines may not be enough for the industry’s expansion, Pender Industries CEO Richard Lattis said the company is working on ways to ramp up production, such as expanding production by trucking.
Lettice’s CEO Mark Buhler said the new model will help to “build the market, build the supply chain, and build the future of the industry.”