Manufacturing News
October 28, 2005 Vol. 12, No. 19
Entire Text

Wal-Mart's Imports Soar; U.S. Exports Junk
- 1796 words

Wal-Mart's imports via ocean container surged by 27.5 percent in 2004, according to the data compiled by the Journal of Commerce and its Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS). Wal-Mart imported 576,000 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in 2004, an increase from 417,600 TEUs in 2003 and up from 291,900 TEUs in 2002. Wal-Mart's imports via containers increased by 49.3 percent in only two years.

On the export side of the ledger, the largest U.S. exporter via container remained American Chung Nam, according to the Journal of Commerce research. The company exported 201,100 containers of scrap paper last year mostly to China, up from 187,500 containers in 2003. The second largest U.S. exporter was Weyerhaeuser, which also sold paper (154,900 containers).

Four of the top 10 U.S. exporters sold paper. Only two of the country's top 10 exporters via container could be classified as manufacturers of products: Procter & Gamble in the eighth spot (54,200 TEUs) and DaimlerChrysler in tenth place (with 50,100 TEUs).

Twenty-nine of the 100 largest U.S. exporters via containers sold paper or waste paper. Another 26 sold food, cattle feed or cotton. Combined, more than half of the United States's largest exporters sold something that was grown. The next largest exported product category via container - at 19 companies - was chemicals.

Imports continue to surge. The top 10 importers brought 1,885,400 TEUs into the United States last year, up 19.2 percent over 2003 (1,559,200 TEUs) and 35.6 percent more than in 2002 (1,214,500 TEUs).

Unlike exporters, the top 100 importers were concentrated in high-value-added finished manufactured goods, with few bringing raw materials, minerals, chemicals or bulk paper into the country. Seven of the top 10 importers were large box retailers: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, Sears, Ikea, Lowes and Costco. At least one-third of the country's largest importers were retailers. At least 50 of the top 100 importers were classified as "manufacturers" of electronics, automobiles and parts, furniture and footwear, including companies such as Sony, Samsung Electronics, Matsushita, Whirlpool, Toyota, Mattel and Nike.

Of the top 100 U.S. exporters in 2004, 11 can be considered U.S. manufacturing companies - Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Ford, Kimberly Clark, Caterpillar, Goodyear, General Motors, USG, Honeywell, Alcoa and Kodak. Combined, these companies exported 269,600 containers. Their exports were less than half the number of containers (576,000) imported by Wal-Mart, and about one-quarter the total number of containers imported by the top three importers (at 1,080,000), which includes: Wal-Mart, Home Depot (301,200) and Target (202,700).

The Journal of Commerce data is unique in that it is gathered from many sources and provides non-aggregated statistics for individual companies involved in international trade. The data on the following pages is used with permission from the Journal of Commerce, http://www.joc.com.

Top 100 U.S. Importers Via Ocean Container Transport - 2004
As measured in 20-foot-equivalent container units or TEUs The first number listed for each company is the number of TEUs imported in 2004, followed by 2003 imported TEUs and 2002. NR means the company was not on the list for that year. SOURCE: Journal of Commerce and the Port Import/Export Reporting Service.


1. Wal-Mart Stores, retail, 576,000, 417,600, 291,900
2. The Home Depot, retail, 301,200, 267,100, 182,000
3. Target Corp., retail, 202,700, 208,400, 173,100
4. Sears (includes K-Mart), retail, 186,000, 106,300, 60,4000
5. Dole Food, food, 164,100, 171,300, 142,900
6. Chiquita Brands Intl., food, 115,600, 108,600, 103,200
7. Ikea Intl., retail, 100,000, 60,200, 44,700
7. Lowes Cos., retail, 100,000, 96,500, 82,900
9. Heineken USA, beverages, 83,400, 77,700, 75,000
10. Costco Wholesale, retail, 66,400, 23,200, 19,382
11. Ashley Furniture Inds., furniture, 69,800, 53,400, 45,200
12. Payless ShoeSource, retail, 54,200, 56,800, 55,000
13. Samsung, electronics, 52,800, 40,800, 46,200
14. Matsushita Electric, electronics, 52,100, 52,800, 41,500
15. Toyota Motor Sales, autos, 52,000, 49,050, 45,000
16. General Electric, conglomerate, 51,800, 49,300, 48,500
17. Williams Sonoma, retail, 50,000, 22,400, 19,200
18. Mattel, toys, 49,300, 41,000, 43,700
19. Pier 1 Imports, retail, 48,100, 47,300, 46,700
20. Nike, footwear & apparel, 47,900, 41,800, 38,700
21. Sony Corp., conglomerate, 47,100, 50,700, 40,000
22. Michelin, tires & rubber, 46,100, 35,100, 34,500
23 JC Penny Corp. 45,000, NA, NA
24. LG Group, conglomerate, 43,300, 44,700, 33,500
25. Bridgestone/Firestone, tires, 42,500, 40,000, 26,800
26. Limited Brands, retail, 41,300, 37,000, 35,000
27. Dollar General, retail, 40,000, NA, NA
28. Toys 'R' Us, retail, 39,300, 40,900, 40,000
29. Big Lots, liquidator-retail, 36,300, 46,000, 45,800
30. Fresh Del Monte Produce, food, 32,400, 29,000, 12,600
31. Ford Motor, autos, 29,700, 31,200, 31,100
32. Doral Industries, furniture, 28,700 16,000, NR
33. Nestle, food, 28,500, 21,700, 14,300
34. Nissan North America, autos, 27,700, 21,000, 16,500
35. Yamaha, transportation mfg., 27,300, 26,800, 24,600
36. Philips Electronics, electronics, 27,200, 26,600, 22,000
37. Michaels Stores, retail, 27,100, 24,800 14,600
38. Whirlpool, appliances, 26,800, 21,900, NR
39. Canon, computers, 26,200, 23,200, 20,000
40. Walgreen Co., retail, 25,500, 19,500, 17,200
41. Rooms to Go, retail, 24,200, 21,100, 19,800
42. Thomson, electronics, 24,200, 23,800, 21,400
43. Federated Dept. Stores, retail, 23,700, 15,000, 13,000
44. P&G, consumer products, 23,000, 19,400, 18,000
45. DuPont, chemicals, 22,800, 22,500, 20,000
46. Emerson Brands, conglomerate, 22,600, 20,200, 20,000
47. Marubeni America, chemicals, 21,800, NR, NR
47. Jarden Corp., appliances, 21,800, 22,600, 14,600
49. Stora Enso N.A., forest products, 21,700, 16,300, 16,300
50. Reebok Intl., footwear, 20,600, 19,000, 9,500
51. Red Bull, beverages, 20,400, NR, NR
51. Hankook Tire Americas, tires, 20,400, 13,100, NR
53. Dollar Tree Stores, retail, 19,300, NR, NR
54. Dow Chemical, chemicals, 19,900, 17,700, 15,000
55. Natuzzi Americas, furniture, 19,654, 21,900, 20,800
56. Goodyear, tires/rubber/retail, 19,400, 16,100, 14,200
57. Family Dollar Stores, retail, 19,300, 12,600, 10,000
58. Retail Ventures-Value City, retail, 18,800, 13,800 13,000
59. TJX, retail, 18,200, 15,700, 15,000
60. Sharp Electronics, electronics, 17,900, 17,400, 19,700
61. Conair, appliances & housewares, 17,800, 18,200, 15,100
62. Liz Claiborne, apparel, 17,500, 16,000, 14,000
63. Bayer Corp., chemicals, 17,400, 15,100, NA
64. Toyo Tire & Rubber, tires/auto parts, 16,900, 15,100, 12,900
65. Fonterra Corp, beverages, 16,700, 14,600, NA
66. Toyota, autos/parts, 16,000, NA, NA
67. JoAnn Stores, retail, 15,900, NA, NA
68. Foxconn Electronics, computers, 15,400, 15,500, NA
69. Caterpillar, machinery, 15,300, 13,600, 12,000
70. Arauco Wood Products, forest products, 15,000, NA, NA
71. Gap Stores, retail, 14,800, 13,200, 12,000
72. DaimlerChrysler, autos, 14,600, 14,400, 14,200
73. May Department Stores, retail, 14,500, 15,000, 13,000
73. TPV Intl., electronics, 14,500, NA, NA
75. Best Buy, retail, 14,400, NA, NA
76. Bombay Co., retail, 14,300, 15,600, NA
76. Fuji Photo Film, photo imaging, 14,300, 12,900, 10,500
78. Pacific Fruit, food, 14,200, 13,400, 14,100
78. BMW, autos, 14,200, 15,000, 14,000
78. Haier America Trading, appliances, 14,200, 16,600, 15,900
78. Hasbro, toys, 14,200, 16,700, 13,300
82. Salton, appliances, 14,100, 14,600, NA
83. Suzuki, auto & transport, 13,700, 13,400, 12,300
84. Linens & Things, retail, 13,600, NA, NA
85. Office Max, retail, 13,400, NA, NA
85. Epson America, computers, 13,400,11,900, 10,900
87. Coaster of America, furniture, 13,300, 13,300, NA, NA
88. Staples, retail, 13,200, 12,100, NA
89. Yazaka, auto parts, 12,900, NA, NA
90. Southern Wines & Spirits, beverages, 12,300, 11,700, NA
91. Ricoh Corp., electronics, 11,600, 12,700, NA
91. Norske Skog, forest products, 11,600, 19,700, 19,000
91. Brother Intl., electronics, 11,600, NA, NA
94. Applica Consumer Products, appliances, 11,100, NA, NA
98. American Honda Motor, autos, 10,300, 50,400, 46,200
98. Groupe Danone, food/beverages, 10,300 24,300, 22,300
100. CVS Corp., retail, 10,200, 11,800, 16,000

Top 100 U.S. Exporters Via Ocean Container Transport - 2004

As measured in 20-foot-equivalent container units or TEUs. The first number is the number of TEUs exported in 2004, followed by TEUs exported in 2003 and 2002. NR means the company was not on the list for that year. SOURCE: Journal of Commerce and the Port Import/Export Reporting Service.


1. American Chung Nam, wastepaper, 201,100, 187,500, 156,500
2. Weyerhaeuser, forest products/paper, 154,900 102,200, 95,600
3. DuPont, chemicals, 123,000, 101,200, 104,000
4. Cargill, food, 80,600 76,800, 51,200
5. MeadWestvaco, paper, 66,800, 59,900, 59,000
6. Dow Chemical, chemicals, 64,700, 51,100, 52,400
7. Cellmark Group, paper, 56,700, 63,900, 45,100
8. P&G, consumer products, 54,200, 50,600, 48,000
9. BASF, chemicals, 50,200, 40,400, 38,500
10. DaimlerChrysler, autos, 50,100, 49,400, 47,000
11. General Electric, conglomerate, 50,000, 46,600, 44,400
12. Altria Group, food, tobacco, 47,500, 46,000, 44,700
13. Allenberg Cotton, cotton, 45,900, 34,400, 21,200
14. ExxonMobil Chemical, chemicals, 44,300, 30,100, 28,700
15. International Paper, paper, 42,700, 52,600, 50,100
16. Engelhard, chemicals & metals, 39,900, 37,700, 36,500
17. Allan Co., wastepaper, 38,600, 36,500, 21,000
18. Eastman Chemical, chemicals, 37,900, 22,600, 21,500
19. Georgia-Pacific, paper, 35,700, 60,800, 48,700
20. Canusu Hershman Recycling, paper, 35,200, NA, NA
21. Dunavant Enterprises, cotton, 32,600, 36,200, 22,700
22. Archer Daniels Midland, food, 32,300, 25,100, 17,700
23. Rayonier, paper & forest products, 31,700, 28,200, 26,900
24. Ford Motor, autos, 30,200, 33,900, 32,300
25. Yao Yang Enterprises, wastepaper, 29,400, 27,600, 20,600
26. Koch Industries, paper, 29,100, NA, NA
27. JC Horizon, waste paper, 28,700, 39,000, 25,400
28. Toyota Tsusho, autos/parts, 28,100, 12,900, 13,100
29. ConAgra Foods, food, 27,400, 44,300, 42,200
30. Anderson Hay & Grain, animal feed, 27,300, 30,000, 25,500
31. Itochu Specialty Chemicals, chemicals, 26,700, 20,200, NA
32. JM Huber, chemicals, 25,100, 20,400, 17,200
33. Mitsui, conglomerate, 24,300, 24,300, NA, NA
34. Sears Holdings, retail, 24,200, NA, NA
35. Kimberly Clark, consumer goods, 23,900, NA, NA
36. Caterpillar, machinery, 23,500, 19,900, 19,200
37. Buckeye Technologies, paper, 22,500, 24,200, 24,600
38. Potential Industries, wastepaper, 22,300, 12,100, 11,500
38. Shintech, chemicals, 22,300, 27,700, 29,500
40. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, tires, 21,600, 20,900, 19,000
41. Graphic Packaging, paper, 20,200, 19,000, 19,100
42. Ralison Intl., paper, 20,100, 25,200, NA
43. International Forest Products, paper, 20,000, 10,400, NA
44. Tzeng Long, paper, 19,900 15,400, NA
45. KC Intl., recycled paper, 19,600, 16,300, 9,100
45. Tyson Foods, food, 19,600, 48,400, 44,100
47. Abitibi Consolidated, paper, 18,900, 20,900, 9,300
47. Michelin N. America, tires/rubber, 18,900, 9,000, 12,100
49. Rio Tinto America, minerals, 18,500, NA, NA
50. General Motors, autos/parts, 17,900, 10,400, 8,900
50. Mills Brothers Intl., food/grain, 17,900, NA, NA
52. H. Muehlstein, chemicals, 17,200, 14,000, 12,500
53. AJC Intl., food, 16,900, NA, NA
53. Fruit of the Loom, textiles, 16,900, NA, NA
55. 3M, chemicals, 16,800, 15,700, 14,500
56. Bayer Corp., chemicals, 16,100, 17,000, 17,900
56. Calcot, cotton, 16,100, 16,100, 16,600
58. Genesis Resources, wastepaper, 15,900, 21,700, 9,500
59. Celanese Chemicals, chemicals, 15,500, 14,100, 12,100
60. Nestle USA, food/beverages, 15,400, 15,300, 12,000
60. T&T Group, recycled plastic, 15,400, NA, NA
62. World Food Program, food, 15,300, 14,000, 10,700
63. Dole Food, food, 15,200, 14,100, 12,800
64. Vinmar, chemicals, 14,900, 10,700, NA
65. American Honda Motor, autos, 14,600, 13,600, 13,100
66. Smurfit Stone Cont., wastepaper, 14,200, 15,800, 14,500
66. USG Corp., building materials, 14,200, 11,600, 10,900
68. Potlatch, paper/forest products, 14,000, 11,200, 11,000
69. Calaway Trading, animal feed/hay, 13,800, 12,900, 10,400
70. Colgate-Palmolive, consumer goods 13,400, 12,700, 10,300
70. BP, chemicals, 13,400, NA, NA
70. Newark Group, paper, 13,400, NA, NA
70. Sojitz Corp., conglomerate, 13,300, NA, NA
74. Chevron Texaco, chemicals, 13,300, 13,700, 13,000
75. Honeywell Intl., aerospace, 12,700, 8,500, 8,700
75. Pressa Agri, cattlefeed, 12,700, 14,800, 14,400
77. Solutia, chemicals, 12,500, 11,300, 12,400
77. Wilbur Ellis, animal feed, 12,500, 15,100, 14,400
79. Whirlpool, appliances, 12,300, 11,100, 12,500
80. Chiquita Brands Intl, food, 12,100, NA, NA
81. PG Industries, chemicals, 11,800, 10,300, 9,600
82. Zen Noh Unico, animal feed, 11,800, 11,100, 7,800
83. JR Simplot, food, 11,600, 11,600, 10,600
84. Baillie Lumber, forest products, 11,500, NA, NA
85. Georgia Paper Intl., paper, 11,300, NA, NA
86. Alcoa, metals/aluminum, 11,200, 11,200, 13,100
86. E.&J. Gallo Winery, beverages, 11,200, 14,300, 11,100
88. Anheuser Busch, beer/beverages, 11,000, 10,200, NA
89. Molson Coors, beverages, 10,800, 13,500, 13,500
89. Forest Fibers, paper, 10,600, NA, NA
91. Perez Trading, paper, 10,400, 9,100, 8,800
92. Eastman Kodak, photo imaging, 10,200, 10,100, NA
93. ACX Trading, animal feed, 10,100, 14,500, 14,500
93. Nissan, autos, 10,100, 8,800, 8,100
95. Marubeni America, conglomerate, 10,000, NA, NA
95. World Minerals, minerals, 10,000, NA, NA
97. Trident Seafoods, food, 9,900, 8,600, 8,100
98. PriceSmart, retail, 9,700, 8,300, NA
99. U.S. Postal Service, mail, 9,700, 10,200, 9,500
100. Zen Trading, animal feed, 9,600, 9,300, 10,000