Surfboards: Made in China

By: Stephanie Moore

The surfboard industry is struggling. Fuel costs and a weak dollar have contributed to this struggle, but most blame the problem on cheap imports from China.

Surfing is the world’s oldest action sport. It was invented in America, where, historically, surfboards have been made. The American surfboard industry centers around three states: Hawaii, Florida, and California. Now the small local shapers in these places are being drained as more of their customers are heading to the retail giant Costco to buy cheaper boards brought in from overseas.

When the company Clark Foam closed in 2005, it shook the industry. Clark Foam sold cores to thousands of surfboard shapers worldwide, basically holding a monopoly on the business.

The surfboard giant closed it’s doors after it’s owner, Gordon “Grubby” Clark began having problems with local and state government regulations. He acknowledged that the company released more than 2 tons of styrene fumes into the air per year. Meeting environmental regulations, Clark claimed, would cost millions of dollars.

The company’s safety issues cost at least three employees their health. At least one lawsuit resulted from the death of one employee, whose widow claimed that carcinogens at Clark Foam caused the cancer that killed him. The price of custom made surfboards jumped after the shake-up, which makes cheaper boards all the more appealing.

The end of Clark Foam was not the end of the surfboard industry. In fact, it inspired shapers to experiment with other materials, some of which, like epoxy, were already gaining popularity. Among the barriers that were broken down at this point, however, was the importation of foreign boards.

There are more than 60 shapers in China today and Costco has sold thousands of surfboards since it began offering the product in 2001. Many of the Chinese manufacturers have never surfed, perhaps never even seen the ocean, yet their boards are of surprisingly good quality.

The availability of cheap boards has caused controversy among surfers. While some are delighted to be able to buy affordable boards, others are outraged by the disloyalty to local surfboard shapers. They claim the Chinese boards are of inferior quality and have no soul.

Some of America’s highest gas prices are in California. Since surfboard materials are petroleum based, the high price of fuel has hit smaller shapers really hard. The industry also depends on oil to ship it’s products. Surfers who feel they owe loyalty to these small craftsmen will have to pay more for a custom made surfboard. Handmade boards sell for $500 or higher, with master shapers like Donald Takeyama, Skip Frye, Dick Brewer selling them for $1000. Surfers who buy at Costco claim that it’s not the board who makes the surfer and that the quality of the mass-produced boards is good enough for a great surfer. They last as long as hand-made boards . The made in China surfboards are ideal for beginner’s and intermediates.

Until recently, this was one of the fastest growing sports industries in the US, $2.46 billion in 2004 and rising to $2.65 billion in revenue in the year 2006, with retail sales of $190 million. Numbers for 2007-2008 aren’t yet in, but after seeing 30% drops in their own operations, retailers and manufacturers are predicting the growth to slow.

Surfboard shapers are accustomed to thinking of their profession as a laid-back counter-culture, shielded from the financial pressure of mainstream American business. Yet, they are not immune to the tough economic pressures that everyone else is feeling. It is possible that the days of buying custom made surfboards locally are over. The surfboard industry is flexible. Many see the recent problems as an opportunity for new things in the business. Surfboard shapers are taking the heat now, but there is still reason to believe they’ll adapt and survive.

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