CNNMoney.com just released its “Hottest Toys of 2010” list. The list profiles 16 toys that are expected to dominate in this year’s holiday season. Recalling newsworthy shortages of Tickle-Me Elmos and Wiis in past holiday seasons, we decided to take a look at the import trends for a few of the top toys to gauge how retailers are preparing for the 2010 shopping surge.

The graph below displays recent monthly shipments of five of the top toys anticipated by CNNMoney’s report. Shipments for each toy in our graph have grown gradually since May, with July and August being the strongest months. According to the American Journal of Transportation (AJOT), this summer spike is expected to overthrow the traditional October peak in holiday imports. AJOT attributes the shift in importing season to the space shortages on ocean cargo vessels.

Returning to the graph below, Paper Jamz imports show the most dramatic spike in shipments, especially in July. Zoobles and Squinkies also posted large shipments July through September. Time will tell if retailers have correctly identified these toys as the ones to buy for 2010. 

 

* September data includes shipments through September 22, 2010. 

Zepol has created a report on U.S. wood imports from August 2009 - July 2010. The report provides import information for each 10 digit HTS code for all of the related products under HTS code 4409 (continuously shaped wood) and sheds light on key consignees, countries, and ports as they relate to U.S. wood imports.

3 Key Insights Found in the Report:

1. Brazil is the U.S.’s top supplier for wood products in HTS 4409, with $238,155,180 exported over August 2009 to July 2010 – a 16.64% increase over the previous year
   
2. Canada dominates the U.S.’s supply of red cedar siding (HTS 4409.10.1020 & HTS 4409.10.1060), with 95% and 100% market share respectively from August 2009 to July 2010
3. July 2010 was a big month for U.S. wood imports across the board, with several HTS product categories posting their high for the year in this month
   

To download the report, please click this link.

Zepol is pleased to provide this information to the public. Please let us know if you have any questions about the contents of our report by filling out our Contact Me form.

We at Zepol are pleased to announce that we've upgraded the charting functionality for our products TradeIQ™ and TradeView™. This enhancement allows users to further customize charts by choosing the chart type and number of items displayed, creating more impactful visual representations of the data for reports and presentations.

View the video below for more information on this enhancement and feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions.

The U.S. House of Representative’s passage of The Congressional Made in America Act and the Berry Amendment Extension Act got us thinking. While these bills forbid Congress and the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing foreign-made goods, is it even possible to filter them out?

At this point you may be asking, “What do you mean is it possible? All we have to do is stop importing products from other countries, right?” Well, it turns out that it isn’t quite that easy. Sure, Congress can begin sourcing its pens from within the United States instead of China, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that these “homemade” pens are U.S. made.

Even in an object as simple as a ballpoint pen, there are many different components that the manufacturers need to source in order to create the finished product. Plastic pellets used in the injection molding process for the pen’s outer casing may have come from Thailand, the pen’s spring from Malaysia, and the ink from China. Now, imagine the complexity involved in accounting for all the components in a more sophisticated product, like a computer - not so simple.

In the case of The Congressional Made in America Act, which is an amendment to the earlier Buy American Act, only materials and supplies that have been manufactured in the United States “substantially” from U.S. raw materials shall be acquired for the public use. The act’s phrasing is subjective as it does not offer a specific guideline for the percentage of raw material used in a product that must be of U.S. origin nor does it note whether or not the material’s importance to the finished product must be taken into consideration. Even more important for most potential suppliers to U.S. government departments, the act gives no prescription for how companies should go about tracking and documenting the origin of their products, and the supplies used to make those products, and so forth.

In light of this new legislation, the topic of trade compliance strategy should be top-of-mind for all manufacturers hoping to do business with the U.S. government.