US imports of Molding boxes for metal foundry

US imports under HTS 8480 at a glance

Between March and July 2026, US importers entered $878 million of molding boxes for metal foundry under HTS heading 8480, from 44 of the 55 origin countries covered here and across 18 ten-digit tariff lines — roughly $176 million a month of customs value under a single four-digit heading.

Heading 8480 sits in chapter 84, machinery, mechanical appliances and computers, so anything classified here shares a duty structure with the rest of that chapter.

Who exports molding boxes for metal foundry to the United States

Canada is the largest origin with $252 million, or 28.7% of the heading, with China at 14.8% and Germany at 8.4%. The top three take 51.8% between them — enough concentration to matter when one origin's duty treatment changes, but not so much that a buyer has no alternative to qualify.

Canada and Mexico sit near the top of the table, and the duty numbers reflect it: Canada entered 73.2% of its value free of duty and Mexico entered 84.1% of its value free of duty. Cargo that qualifies under USMCA and is claimed correctly at entry pays nothing; cargo that does not qualify, or that is never claimed, pays the ordinary rate. The certification is the whole difference.

What importers actually paid in duty

Duty treatment is split. 75.1% of the entered value was dutiable and the rest came in free, usually under a trade agreement or a duty-free provision in the tariff schedule. CBP collected $126 million in all, an effective 19.2% on the dutiable value and $14.39 per $100 of goods once the free entries are counted.

The spread between origins is real. Among origins with at least 2% of the heading, China paid the most duty relative to value — $39.31 per $100 — while Mexico paid $2.36. On a $250,000 purchase order that gap is about $92,000 in duty alone, which is worth pricing into a sourcing decision rather than discovering on the entry summary.

The 10-digit lines under heading 8480

18 ten-digit lines carried trade under this heading in the period. The largest, 8480.71.80.45 (other), took 55.9% of the heading at $491 million. 8480.60.00.90, 8480.79.90.90 and 8480.71.80.60 follow. Rates diverge between those lines, so the classification your broker files is worth checking against the goods rather than carried over from the last entry.

What the duty stack looks like

The rate on an entry is not one number. It is a stack: the general (column 1) rate for the 10-digit line, less any trade-agreement preference the goods qualify for, plus whatever additional duties apply to that product and origin, all applied to the customs value declared. The $14.39 per $100 above is what that stack averaged across every entry in this heading — a benchmark, not a quote.

For the origins carrying the most volume, the per-country breakdowns go a level deeper: China (8480.71.80), Germany (8480.71.80) and South Korea (8480.71.80). To price a specific shipment, put your 10-digit code and country of origin into the tariff simulator.

What this means for your next shipment

Classify first, confirm origin second, quote freight third. A heading like 8480 rewards that order, because the duty differences between lines and between origins are usually larger than the freight differences on the same lane. Airlift USA handles the freight and coordinates classification and entry through our licensed broker network.

For the operational side rather than the tariff side, see the Heavy Machinery & Industrial Equipment guide for how this cargo moves, the China to USA lane for transit times and ports and the heading index to compare against the rest of chapter 84.