Government Studies Show A Sharp Increase In The Number Of Suspect Parts Ending Up In U.S., Including Military Hardware

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry & Security, the number of counterfeit incidents reported by 387 participants climbed from 3,868 in 2005 to 9,356 in 2008, an increase of more than 140 percent.

In May, a Senate Armed Services Committee investigation discovered counterfeit electronic parts from China in the Air Force’s largest cargo plane, in assemblies intended for Special Operations helicopters, and in a Navy surveillance plane among 1,800 cases of bogus parts. The year-long investigation launched by Sen. Carl Levin, (D-MI), the committee’s chairman, and Ranking Member Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ) (pictured L-R), found a total number of suspect counterfeit parts involved in those 1,800 cases exceeding 1 million. “Our report outlines how this flood of counterfeit parts, overwhelmingly from China, threatens national security, the safety of our troops and American jobs,” Levin said at the time. “It underscores China’s failure to police the blatant market in counterfeit parts – a failure China should rectify.”

To help combat such counterfeiting, SAE International offers its new "Counterfeit Parts Portal." The portal is designed as an information clearing house for manufacturers and engineers trying to cope with the counterfeit parts challenge. Building from SAE International's leadership position, the new portal aggregates news, articles, opinion pieces, blogs, and regulatory and legislative information related to the topic.

"We've really created a go-to website related to counterfeit parts and the challenges associated with them," Bill Cariello, Manager, Web Strategy/Operations, SAE International, said. "SAE International's new 'Counterfeit Parts Portal' provides important knowledge to help mobility engineering professionals deal with the challenges presented by counterfeit parts and help the industry as a whole eliminate them. There clearly is a problem, and we hope that SAE International's new 'Counterfeit Parts Portal' can help provide solutions."

In addition to the portal, SAE International and TTI, Inc. have partnered to present the first-ever "SAE 2012 Counterfeit Parts Avoidance Symposium," which will be held Friday, November 2, 2012, in Phoenix, AZ. Attendees will discuss the challenges of this issue through an open forum environment and learn about the negative impact that counterfeit electronic parts are having on business, and the current processes in place to mitigate this growing problem.

FMI: www.sae.org