ToughBuilt Industries, Inc. Import Observations
We will update this page frequently as we uncover more information
Summary: We are able to find some of the import records for ToughBuilt Industries, which help us to understand product flows into the United States, and into the hands of their retailers. They are paid when they fill purchase orders from retailers (except Amazon), so we can use this as a proxy for financial revenue data.
Some of this data is challenging to find for ToughBuilt. I am not sure why, but some data (which we can access for free), is incomplete, most of it is very badly aged (back from 2020), and in a few cases, we see real shipments that allow us to better understand their business. We are sharing that information here, as it lets us know that ToughBuilt is having product manufactured and shipped to retailers in the United States, and earning revenue.
On May 8, 2024, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the US Customs and Border Patrol to see if we can get a complete and relevant snapshot. We will keep you informed.
Some of this data is challenging to find for ToughBuilt. I am not sure why, but some data (which we can access for free), is incomplete, most of it is very badly aged (back from 2020), and in a few cases, we see real shipments that allow us to better understand their business. We are sharing that information here, as it lets us know that ToughBuilt is having product manufactured and shipped to retailers in the United States, and earning revenue.
On May 8, 2024, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the US Customs and Border Patrol to see if we can get a complete and relevant snapshot. We will keep you informed.
May 8, 2024: Looking back to 2023 for bill of lading information, we see that ToughBuilt has used UPS Supply Chain solutions numerous times in 2023 for saw horses and Quickset work benches shipped from India. We found 20 bills of lading (BOL) shipments. They varied in size fromm 76 cartons or packages SH30 or SH60 saw horses up to a typical size of 796 or 1,030 cartons or packages. These packages came from either Garhi Harsaru, HR and shipped out of Mundra India. We know ToughBuilt has a long-term, highly skilled manufacturer, Electrospark Ltd, located in that area. These shipped direct, or many shipped via either Shekou, China and/or Singapore. One Los Angeles trips with three departure points took 53 days to be ready at the final destination. One Savannah, Georgia trip that was direct took 35 days, door to door.
These shipments mostly came into The Port of Virginia, in Norfolk, Virginia, Savannah, Georgia, or Los Angeles, California. Those three locations are near Lowe's Coastal Import Facilities. Many of the bills of lading reference a PO number and date, implying they were imported to order, and not to stock.
These are only the UPS Supply Chain 'notify party' shipments that explicitly reference ToughBuilt in the BOL that were provided by the data provider, Import Info, for free to us without a paid registration.
We signed up for ImportYeti, which is a free service for shipment data, and we notice a few things. One is that only one shipment is showing up in 2024. That shipment is from Electrospark Plot Ltd, their Indian sawhorse supplier, dated 19 April 2024 which we have discussed below.
These shipments mostly came into The Port of Virginia, in Norfolk, Virginia, Savannah, Georgia, or Los Angeles, California. Those three locations are near Lowe's Coastal Import Facilities. Many of the bills of lading reference a PO number and date, implying they were imported to order, and not to stock.
These are only the UPS Supply Chain 'notify party' shipments that explicitly reference ToughBuilt in the BOL that were provided by the data provider, Import Info, for free to us without a paid registration.
We signed up for ImportYeti, which is a free service for shipment data, and we notice a few things. One is that only one shipment is showing up in 2024. That shipment is from Electrospark Plot Ltd, their Indian sawhorse supplier, dated 19 April 2024 which we have discussed below.
May 7, 2024: We see more StackTech TM products available for sale, in-store, in Chicagoland Lowe's stores. Inventory restock is underway. This is not a complete refresh, and not all products are available, but the in-stock inventory levels are rising. Our 'touchstone' will be when we see the 3-drawer XL box back in stock (been sold out for weeks), and when we see the newly released 3-drawer XL rolling box.
StackTech inventory at Lowe's is key to the growth of the company, and it all starts with product on the shelves.
We also now see Phase 1 StackTech TM products available for sale in-store in Hong Kong, at competitive prices.
StackTech inventory at Lowe's is key to the growth of the company, and it all starts with product on the shelves.
We also now see Phase 1 StackTech TM products available for sale in-store in Hong Kong, at competitive prices.
May 2, 2024: We feel more positive about the growth prospects of this company based on the changes in the way the firm is importing products to fill purchase orders for its largest U.S. retail partner. It may cost more but seems more professional. ToughBuilt is now using secured, purchase order funding from King Trade Capital, they just received a shipment from their long-time Indian supplier Electrospark Ltd of ~1,000 saw horses and work benches. They are now using UPS Supply Chain Solutions to fill Lowe's replenishment orders for StackTech products out of Xiamen, China. They have also reduced the size of their average bill of lading (potentially making it easier on Lowe's supply chain process).
Based on initial research, ToughBuilt may have had a liquidity-driven gap in import shipments (and gross profits) of StackTech and other product lines due to the smaller than expected January 2024 equity raise of $3.5 million. We think we can now connect the dots between the April 2 2024 announcement of PO financing and the resumption of imports of multiple product lines into the United States.
As always, progress creates greater understanding...and more work. Our next steps will be to expand our tracking of product importation, implement tracking of global shipments (non-U.S. bills of lading), estimate revenue impacts, extend tracking into the retail inventory space, and watch the next stage of social media acceptance of their products. We are also looking for the restocking of currently unavailable product categories, like StackTech products that quickly sold out, 1,300 pound capacity saw horse, wrenches, pliers and clamps, fixed knives, tape measures, miter saw tables, and electronics.
In our opinion, the demand for their products is there to achieve $200M in revenue, and potentially at 25% gross margins, which allows the company $50M / year in SG&A and R&D expense before accounting for their cost of capital and taxes.
Based on initial research, ToughBuilt may have had a liquidity-driven gap in import shipments (and gross profits) of StackTech and other product lines due to the smaller than expected January 2024 equity raise of $3.5 million. We think we can now connect the dots between the April 2 2024 announcement of PO financing and the resumption of imports of multiple product lines into the United States.
As always, progress creates greater understanding...and more work. Our next steps will be to expand our tracking of product importation, implement tracking of global shipments (non-U.S. bills of lading), estimate revenue impacts, extend tracking into the retail inventory space, and watch the next stage of social media acceptance of their products. We are also looking for the restocking of currently unavailable product categories, like StackTech products that quickly sold out, 1,300 pound capacity saw horse, wrenches, pliers and clamps, fixed knives, tape measures, miter saw tables, and electronics.
In our opinion, the demand for their products is there to achieve $200M in revenue, and potentially at 25% gross margins, which allows the company $50M / year in SG&A and R&D expense before accounting for their cost of capital and taxes.
May 1, 2024
There is good news from China and India for product replenishment at Lowe's
Today we found bills of lading from ToughBuilt suppliers that show product being landed in U.S. ports starting on April 8, 2024, a mere six days after the Purchase Order financing was announced. Those shipments equate to revenue being earned, and progress on the way to positive cash flow from operations in Q3 2024. Again, this is good news.
Each week we look at the main retailers of ToughBuilt products and check inventory and selection. We have noticed inventory declines and product removals (no longer offered for sale) across major retailers since February 2024 specifically in StackTech, electronics, saw horses, tape measures, hand tools, and larger items like mitre saw tables and room levels. We see other products being replenished selectively (e.g., Massive Mouth, ClipTech, and hand tools like saws, levels cutters, and screwdrivers). Amazon was seeing less ToughBuilt product availability. Foreign tool sellers we check were also running low on product. Finally, street prices and availability on sites like Amazon, eBay, online tool resellers, and more 'flea market' oriented sites are seeing minimal ToughBuilt inventory.
In a word, the market was consuming all the ToughBuilt products and depleting inventories. Since inventory replenished generally means revenue earned, we understood this to be negative for Q2 revenue. However, we understood this to be required for the company to conserve its limited sources of cash and liquidity.
Now we see a turn-around in progress. The new PO financing means that ToughBuilt's financial partner fronts the money for a valid, reputable vendor's purchase order, and is paid first when the order is accepted. This way, ToughBuilt can focus on flowing product, not finding cash to fund working capital.
It was negative because ToughBuilt earns revenue when it delivers product to a retailer in response to a purchase order. When we see inventory at Lowe's, for example, the company already earned its revenue. The one exception to this rule is Amazon, where ToughBuilt may earn revenue when product is sold (although it can be housed at Amazon warehouses for faster and cheaper delivery).
There is good news from China and India for product replenishment at Lowe's
Today we found bills of lading from ToughBuilt suppliers that show product being landed in U.S. ports starting on April 8, 2024, a mere six days after the Purchase Order financing was announced. Those shipments equate to revenue being earned, and progress on the way to positive cash flow from operations in Q3 2024. Again, this is good news.
Each week we look at the main retailers of ToughBuilt products and check inventory and selection. We have noticed inventory declines and product removals (no longer offered for sale) across major retailers since February 2024 specifically in StackTech, electronics, saw horses, tape measures, hand tools, and larger items like mitre saw tables and room levels. We see other products being replenished selectively (e.g., Massive Mouth, ClipTech, and hand tools like saws, levels cutters, and screwdrivers). Amazon was seeing less ToughBuilt product availability. Foreign tool sellers we check were also running low on product. Finally, street prices and availability on sites like Amazon, eBay, online tool resellers, and more 'flea market' oriented sites are seeing minimal ToughBuilt inventory.
In a word, the market was consuming all the ToughBuilt products and depleting inventories. Since inventory replenished generally means revenue earned, we understood this to be negative for Q2 revenue. However, we understood this to be required for the company to conserve its limited sources of cash and liquidity.
Now we see a turn-around in progress. The new PO financing means that ToughBuilt's financial partner fronts the money for a valid, reputable vendor's purchase order, and is paid first when the order is accepted. This way, ToughBuilt can focus on flowing product, not finding cash to fund working capital.
It was negative because ToughBuilt earns revenue when it delivers product to a retailer in response to a purchase order. When we see inventory at Lowe's, for example, the company already earned its revenue. The one exception to this rule is Amazon, where ToughBuilt may earn revenue when product is sold (although it can be housed at Amazon warehouses for faster and cheaper delivery).
India - Sawhorses and Work Benches
The first Q2 2024 bill of lading we found was from Electrospark Ltd, an existing Indian supplier of ToughBuilt C300 and C550 sawhorses that highlights that product line on their website and in their CEO company video. It was fun seeing people making ToughBuilt sawhorses. Their shipment of 'cabinet' and 'work bench' contained 90 boxes of product, was to arrive April 19, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia (a Lowe's import facility), weighs 4,745 kilograms or 10,460 pounds. If the shipment contained only saw horses, it could have contained almost 1,000 of that product, as they weigh ~11 pounds apiece. If the shipment also contained the ToughBuilt QuickSet work bench, and we assume the same item weight, then they could have shipped 500 of each. Lowe's is now showing both the C300 sawhorse and Quickset work bench as available for pickup in 5 days in Chicagoland stores. Good progress there.
We dug into the bill of lading with OOCL, using their Cargo Tracking application. We found that this 20 foot container, containing 90 boxes, weighing 4185 net, left Mundra, Gujarat, India on 14 February, from the Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone Ltd, and traveled to Singapore on the PMX COSCO Antwerp arriving 26 February. On 2 March, it was boarded on the SEAP CMA CGM LOIRE, and arrived Savannah, Chatham, Georgia on 19 April. Total transit time was 74 calendar days, and the container was returned to the carrier on 23 April 2024.
Since ToughBuilt earns revenue when these items are received by Lowe's, this is a 1000-unit sale in April, which should positively impact the Q2 2024 financials. One shipment from Electrospark Ltd led us to keep looking. We found the StackTech replenishment shipments.
The first Q2 2024 bill of lading we found was from Electrospark Ltd, an existing Indian supplier of ToughBuilt C300 and C550 sawhorses that highlights that product line on their website and in their CEO company video. It was fun seeing people making ToughBuilt sawhorses. Their shipment of 'cabinet' and 'work bench' contained 90 boxes of product, was to arrive April 19, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia (a Lowe's import facility), weighs 4,745 kilograms or 10,460 pounds. If the shipment contained only saw horses, it could have contained almost 1,000 of that product, as they weigh ~11 pounds apiece. If the shipment also contained the ToughBuilt QuickSet work bench, and we assume the same item weight, then they could have shipped 500 of each. Lowe's is now showing both the C300 sawhorse and Quickset work bench as available for pickup in 5 days in Chicagoland stores. Good progress there.
We dug into the bill of lading with OOCL, using their Cargo Tracking application. We found that this 20 foot container, containing 90 boxes, weighing 4185 net, left Mundra, Gujarat, India on 14 February, from the Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone Ltd, and traveled to Singapore on the PMX COSCO Antwerp arriving 26 February. On 2 March, it was boarded on the SEAP CMA CGM LOIRE, and arrived Savannah, Chatham, Georgia on 19 April. Total transit time was 74 calendar days, and the container was returned to the carrier on 23 April 2024.
Since ToughBuilt earns revenue when these items are received by Lowe's, this is a 1000-unit sale in April, which should positively impact the Q2 2024 financials. One shipment from Electrospark Ltd led us to keep looking. We found the StackTech replenishment shipments.
China - StackTech
The ToughBuilt StackTech shipments to Lowe's are now being handled by UPS Supply Chain Solutions and are sent from Xiamen, China.
April 28, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. 542 cartons of StackTech tool boxes, weighed 6,057 kilograms, for Lowe's
April 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Eight bills of lading containing StackTech tool boxes for Lowe's:
548 cartons, 9,815 Kg
956 cartons, 8,871 Kg
590 cartons, 6,587 Kg
385 cartons, 6,812 Kg
604 cartons, 6,618 Kg
199 cartons, 4,696 Kg
685 cartons, 7,302 Kg
764 cartons, 6,631 Kg
April 8, 2024, the first UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. shipment in Q2 2024, contained 288 cartons, 7,327 Pounds of StackTech for Lowe's.
So, we could estimate the number of StackTech products in approximately 6,000 cartons, or we could just say it was a good set of sales to Lowe's in April. UPS broke these shipments up since before they would have been kept together in a single bill of lading. This is likely due to a closer working relationship between Lowe's, ToughBuilt, UPS and the financing company.
The Q1 2024 replenishment or stocking event for StackTech was completed in January with shipments to both Los Angeles, California and Long Beach, California from Xiamen China. These were very large bills of lading, or shipments in general, and were managed by UNIS Allesandro in January, 2024.
January 2024 Restocking of StackTech:
4,882 cartons, 39,718 Kg
1,100 cartons, 29,766 Kg
January 10
1,100 cartons, 29,766 Kg
3,996 cartons, 30,249 Kg
660 cartons, 17,859 Kg
January 9
880 cartons, 23,812 Kg
2,100 cartons, 17,587 Kg
January 5
4,175 cartons, 25,920 Kg
1,772 cartons, 30,554 Kg
January 4
2,664 cartons, 16,251 KG
COSCO: We dug into one booking that loaded (port of load) in Xiamen on 11 April, and discharged (port of discharge) at Seattle on 28 April. It would then arrive at the destination on 1 May, and a truck returned the container on 2 My back to the SSA Port of Seattle Terminal 18. Total transit time was 20 days, significantly faster than from India via Singapore.
Another COSCO shipment left Xiamen 28 March, arrived Los Angeles APL customs 17 April, and the empty container was returned to Long Beach, California on 30 April. If the shipment was received by Lowe's on 23 April, then the delivery took 26 days.
Maersk: We followed one 20 foot container from Xiamen to North Vernon, Indiana, via Chicago/Joliet, IL. It loaded 24 March, departed on the Maersk Antares on 25 March, discharged at Los Angeles on 9 April, and was loaded on rail to Chicago, arriving Amarillo, arriving Kansas City, arriving Chicago BNSF Joliet 19 April, arriving Lowe's North Vernon 20 April 2024. The container was shipped back to Chicago on 29 April. This shipment took 27 days, and traveled ocean to rail to truck.
The ToughBuilt StackTech shipments to Lowe's are now being handled by UPS Supply Chain Solutions and are sent from Xiamen, China.
April 28, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. 542 cartons of StackTech tool boxes, weighed 6,057 kilograms, for Lowe's
April 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Eight bills of lading containing StackTech tool boxes for Lowe's:
548 cartons, 9,815 Kg
956 cartons, 8,871 Kg
590 cartons, 6,587 Kg
385 cartons, 6,812 Kg
604 cartons, 6,618 Kg
199 cartons, 4,696 Kg
685 cartons, 7,302 Kg
764 cartons, 6,631 Kg
April 8, 2024, the first UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. shipment in Q2 2024, contained 288 cartons, 7,327 Pounds of StackTech for Lowe's.
So, we could estimate the number of StackTech products in approximately 6,000 cartons, or we could just say it was a good set of sales to Lowe's in April. UPS broke these shipments up since before they would have been kept together in a single bill of lading. This is likely due to a closer working relationship between Lowe's, ToughBuilt, UPS and the financing company.
The Q1 2024 replenishment or stocking event for StackTech was completed in January with shipments to both Los Angeles, California and Long Beach, California from Xiamen China. These were very large bills of lading, or shipments in general, and were managed by UNIS Allesandro in January, 2024.
January 2024 Restocking of StackTech:
4,882 cartons, 39,718 Kg
1,100 cartons, 29,766 Kg
January 10
1,100 cartons, 29,766 Kg
3,996 cartons, 30,249 Kg
660 cartons, 17,859 Kg
January 9
880 cartons, 23,812 Kg
2,100 cartons, 17,587 Kg
January 5
4,175 cartons, 25,920 Kg
1,772 cartons, 30,554 Kg
January 4
2,664 cartons, 16,251 KG
COSCO: We dug into one booking that loaded (port of load) in Xiamen on 11 April, and discharged (port of discharge) at Seattle on 28 April. It would then arrive at the destination on 1 May, and a truck returned the container on 2 My back to the SSA Port of Seattle Terminal 18. Total transit time was 20 days, significantly faster than from India via Singapore.
Another COSCO shipment left Xiamen 28 March, arrived Los Angeles APL customs 17 April, and the empty container was returned to Long Beach, California on 30 April. If the shipment was received by Lowe's on 23 April, then the delivery took 26 days.
Maersk: We followed one 20 foot container from Xiamen to North Vernon, Indiana, via Chicago/Joliet, IL. It loaded 24 March, departed on the Maersk Antares on 25 March, discharged at Los Angeles on 9 April, and was loaded on rail to Chicago, arriving Amarillo, arriving Kansas City, arriving Chicago BNSF Joliet 19 April, arriving Lowe's North Vernon 20 April 2024. The container was shipped back to Chicago on 29 April. This shipment took 27 days, and traveled ocean to rail to truck.
As of May 2, 2024, we are not yet seeing an impact on U.S. retail inventory stocking levels from the increase in imports. Two possible explanations are that products could still be in transit or supply chains, and since these orders are in response to retailer purchase orders, they could be filling existing customer backlogs. My 'touchstone' will be the re-emergence of the StackTech TM three-drawer XL toolbox, and the new three-drawer XL rolling toolbox.
January was likely a very good revenue month for ToughBuilt Industries just in StackTech products.
More to come. Thanks for reading.
Please consider buying an investment advisory service.
January was likely a very good revenue month for ToughBuilt Industries just in StackTech products.
More to come. Thanks for reading.
Please consider buying an investment advisory service.
Thank you Importinfo.com for access to select bill of lading information.