cabinet hinges

Cabinet hinges are largely made of steel, stainless steel and brass. The range of products includes self-closing, concealed, butterfly and piano models. Hinge exports from China amounted to more than US $350 million in 2004, up a robust 27％ over the prior year. The industry continues to expand steadily, with overseas shipments — most of them going to North America — rising 23％ in the first five months of 2005. China's hinge industry rode out the difficulties that plagued it in 2004 to ship US$354.9 million worth of the product, considerably higher than the US$278.9 million recorded in 2003. Export volume reached 173.9 million kilograms in 2004 from 129.2 million kilograms the previous year. The 27 and 35 percent increases in 2004 export value and volume, respectively, are significant given the fierce price competition and soaring raw material costs that marked the year. As with other general hardware product lines in China, the hinges industry consists mostly of small makers — in this case, about 80 percent of the supplier base. Companies with midsize operations make up 15 percent of suppliers while only about 5 percent are large makers.