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70 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com MAY 26.2014 TOP 100 IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS U.S. CONTAINERIZED FOOTWEAR imports plunged 22.4 percent year-over-year in the fi rst quarter of 2014, according to statis- tics compiled by PIERS, the data division of JOC Group. It was t he la rgest yea r-over-yea r decrease in footwear imports since before the 2008-09 recession, and the second consecutive double-digit year-over-year decline. Containerized imports of foot- wear in the fourth quarter of 2013 declined 12.3 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, according to PIERS. The industry is working its way through a down period, but is optimistic sales will pick up in the second half of the year, said Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. Back-to-school shopping is a busy period for footwear. China retained its position as the largest source by far, accounting for two-thirds of total U.S. containerized footwear imports, according to PIERS. That was down from 70 percent in the fi rst quarter of 2013, how- ever, underscoring China's gradual loss of market share in footwear. Vietnam, the second-largest supplier of footwear to the U.S., increased its share of U.S. imports by 2.6 points to a 13.3 per- cent. The volume of containerized footwear imports from Vietnam, however, declined 4 percent in the fi rst quarter from a year ear- lier, according to PIERS. Some importers are moving up their shipments this spring to get ahead of the June 30 expiration of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract. Importers want to get the footwear into their West Coast distribution centers in case there are any work stoppages or slowdowns associated with the negotiations. Although some importers this year may divert shipments to all-water services to the East Coast, that routing isn't a viable option for many footwear importers. "Our wheelhouse continues to be the West Coast," Priest said. JOC Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com and follow him on Twitter: @billmongelluzzo. US Footwear Imports Stumble By Bill Mongelluzzo W O R L D W I D E O C E A N , A I R & L A N D I M P O R T A N D E X P O R T S E R V I C E S S P E E D - S E R V I C E - S I M P L I C I T Y - 9 0 8 . 4 3 1 . 7 6 5 5 W W W. S O M E R S E T M A R I N E . C O M | F O R A N Y I N Q U I R I E S P L E A S E C O N TA C T U S : I N F O @ S O M E R S E T M A R I N E . C O M Source: PIERS, the data division of JOC Group U.S. FOOTWEAR IMPORTS ■ Foreign country shares of containerized footwear imports, fi rst quarter 2014. CHINA 66.6% VIETNAM 13.3% HONG KONG 8.3% INDONESIA 5.4% INDIA 1.1% TAIWAN 0.7% ITALY 0.6% OTHERS 4.0% CHINA 66.6% VIETNAM 13.3% HONG KONG 8.3% INDONESIA 5.4% INDIA 1.1% TAIWAN 0.7% ITALY 0.6% OTHERS 4.0%