Prices for Chinese modules sold to the U.S. have increased by an average of 9 percent following the U.S. Department of Commerce's announcement of preliminary countervailing and antidumping duties on imports of Chinese and Taiwanese cells and modules, according to a new report published by GTM Research, Global PV Pricing Outlook, Q3 2014.
According to the report, released today, quotes for Chinese modules have increased from an average of 70 cents per watt in the first half of 2014 to 78 cents per watt in August -- their highest levels since the second quarter of 2012.
That makes Chinese modules sold in the U.S. an average of 17 percent more expensive than similar modules sold in the rest of the world.
Source: GTM Research's Global PV Pricing Outlook, Q3 2014
"With Chinese module pricing in the U.S. now on par with competitors from Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, China-based suppliers such as JinkoSolar, Trina Solar and Yingli Solar have lost their primary historical competitive advantage in the U.S. This development sets the stage for significant shifts in the solar market landscape relating to supplier market share, supply agreements with downstream customers, and solar project economics, particularly in the more cost-sensitive utility-scale segment," said Jade Jones, author of the report.
The report notes that following the imposition of antidumping tariffs on Taiwanese solar products on July 25, most Chinese suppliers have ceased to use Taiwanese cells to serve U.S. customers -- their method of avoiding tariffs placed on Chinese cells in 2012.
The most popular tariff mitigation strategy now involves shipping an all-Chinese product (wafer, cell, module) into the U.S. and paying the 2012 tariff on Chinese cells.
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Leveraging data and analysis from GTM Research's monthly global tracker PV Pulse, the Global PV Pricing Outlook: Q3 2014 report offers the most up-to-date view of current and future pricing dynamics in the global PV supply chain, from polysilicon to modules across all major solar markets. For more information, visit http://www.greentechmedia.com/research/report/global-pv-pricing-outlook-q3-2014.