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By Marsha Salisbury 34 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com MAY 26.2014 TOP 100 IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS The Journal of Commerce's annual Top 100 U.S. Importers and Exporters ranking begins with data from PIERS, the data division of JOC Group, and is enhanced by information gathered from other industry sources. The f ig ures a re expressed in 20-foot- equivalent units, or TEUs, the most common standard measurement of containerized ocean shipping. One standard 40-foot ocean container equals two TEUs. These lists are restricted to shippers — benefi cial owners of containerized cargo that entered or exited U.S. ports by ocean vessel during 2013. The statistics do not include shippers associations, carriers, non-vessel-operating common carriers, forwarders or brokers, third- party logistics providers, banks, or "to-order" negotiable bills of lading, or data falling under privacy strictures. International import and export cargoes into and out of the U.S. via air, rail or truck are not included. In tandem with last year's ranking and considerable industry research, the list also identifi es corporate subsidiaries and strives to refl ect any changes in corporate status related to mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, formal name changes or bankruptcy fi lings. We also identify the location of corporate headquarters and, if the global headquarters is outside the U.S., the parent company. We indicate a website if one is available and the industry sector, adding a short note about each company, often recent news or an interesting fact. Th e s e r a n k i n g s r epr e s e nt o u r b e s t approximat ion of t he tota l inter nat iona l oceanborne shipments by these companies and their subsidiaries. We welcome your feedback! — Marsha Salisbury SOM E OF TH E fastest-climbing compa- nies on the JOC's Top 100 Importers and Exporters rankings share a common trait: They either partner with or are part of a conglomerate that allows them to create synergies of scale. AMONG THE PLAYERS: ● The fruit and vegetable importers at seventh-ranked Chiquita Brands Inter- national and Dublin, Ireland-based Fyffes, whose Sol Group Marketing unit is ranked 41st. A $559 million Chiquita-Fyffes stock- for-stock merger transaction has been in the works since March and awaits European Union regulatory approval. Their global headquarters would be in Dublin, but the majority of the combined C-level executives will be located in Chiquita's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Chiquita owns ocean carrier Great White Fleet. ● Animal feed and g rain company ACX Pacific Northwest, ranked 23rd on the list of exporters, and Al Dahra Agri- cultural Co., its partner in the Middle East and North Africa. Bakersfi eld, California- based ACX Pacifi c Northwest is rebranding as Al Dahra ACX Global, and will be part of the Al Dahra Agricultural group of companies. ● Koch Indust ries, ow ned by t he brothers David and Charles Koch and the second-ranked exporter, and cel- lulose company Buckeye Technologies, which ranked 67th in 2012. Koch acquired ele c t ron ic s m a ker Molex la s t S ep - tember for $7.2 billion and later added Buckeye Technologies for $1.45 billion to join the Georgia-Pacific-led pulp and paper vertical. The last time the Kochs were so aggressive was with their $13.2 billion acquisition of GP in 2005, which catapulted Koch Industries into the JOC Exporter rankings. Elsewhere in the rankings, retailers and their suppliers dominated the Top 100 Importers, as they have over the past decade since this ranking was developed, and lower- value scrap and industrial companies led the way on the outbound leg. JOC Contact Marsha Salisbury at msalisbury@joc.com. Scaling the JOC Top 100 For additional insight and analysis of the JOC Top 100 Importers and Exporters in 2013 in the U.S. container trade along with emerging trade trends, please tune in on June 26 for a free 75-minute webcast, featuring Research Editor Marsha Salisbury and Editor-at-Large Peter Leach. For more information and to register, go to http://tinyurl.com/ovouj5t. JOC TOP I MPO RTERS & EXPO R TERS About the Rankings