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.