Sourcing Signal

Plastics and rubber machinery: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import plastics and rubber machinery from? Canada carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (2.71% uplift from $19.5/unit landed), China the highest (56.39%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

  • The cheapest place to source plastics and rubber machinery is Canada, where duty (2.26%) plus freight (0.44%) add 2.71% to the pre-tariff price ($19.5/unit landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 56.39% uplift, a 53.68-point spread across lanes.

How to read this

  • Each source country's rank comes from its own real effective duty and freight share (USITC DataWeb), combined as (1 + duty) x (1 + freight). Lower is a cheaper lane.
  • The dollar landed cost scales this family's average import unit price ($19/unit) by each lane's uplift, so lanes differ by their own duty and freight.
  • The FX tag is a short-window cost direction from the currency's recent drift, not a dollar recompute.

Every source country ranked, cheapest first

  • 1. Canada: 2.71% loaded (duty 2.26%, freight 0.44%), $19.5/unit landed, CAD trending dearer
  • 2. Netherlands: 8.11% loaded (duty 6.25%, freight 1.75%), $20.5/unit landed, EUR trending flat
  • 3. South Korea: 10.87% loaded (duty 8.11%, freight 2.55%), $21/unit landed
  • 4. Germany: 11.02% loaded (duty 8.56%, freight 2.27%), $21.1/unit landed, EUR trending flat
  • 5. France: 12.52% loaded (duty 8.78%, freight 3.44%), $21.3/unit landed, EUR trending flat
  • 6. Japan: 13.9% loaded (duty 8.69%, freight 4.79%), $21.6/unit landed, JPY trending flat
  • 7. Italy: 13.96% loaded (duty 10.53%, freight 3.1%), $21.6/unit landed, EUR trending flat
  • 8. Austria: 14.09% loaded (duty 9.55%, freight 4.14%), $21.6/unit landed, EUR trending flat
  • 9. Switzerland: 18.93% loaded (duty 16.04%, freight 2.49%), $22.6/unit landed
  • 10. China: 56.39% loaded (duty 45.53%, freight 7.46%), $29.7/unit landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

  • Germany is the largest source at 28.8% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (1320) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the cheapest country to import plastics and rubber machinery from? Canada. Its effective duty of 2.26% and freight of 0.44% add 2.71% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $19.5/unit.
  • How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($19/unit) times each lane's duty-plus-freight uplift. Because the base price is the family average, lanes differ by their own real duty and freight from USITC DataWeb, so the ranking is genuine even though a per-country price is not yet published.
  • How concentrated is sourcing of plastics and rubber machinery? Germany is the largest source at 28.8% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (1320), this family is diversified. A concentrated map means fewer places to move volume if one lane's duty jumps.

About this data

  • A sourcing-comparison indicator, not a customs quote. Lane ranking uses each country's real effective duty and freight share from USITC DataWeb; a dollar landed cost, where shown, scales the family's average import unit price and does not price a specific shipment. FX is a short-window cost direction, not a currency recompute. Confirm classification and duty with a licensed broker before you buy.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.