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34 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com JUNE 1.2015 JOC TOP 100 U.S. FOREIGN TRADE VIA OCEAN CONTAINER TRANSPORT THE COMPANIES MAKING up The Journal of Commerce Top 100 Importers and Exporters rankings for 2014 share one major trait: They partner with or are part of a conglomerate that allows them to create synergies of scale. It was that sort of synergy that brought together some of the biggest importers and exporters in 2014, impacting the rankings in major ways: ■ The $8.8 billion acquisition by Dollar Tree of Family Dollar is on pace to close in June after a 10-month saga, including a hostile bid by 30th-ranked Dollar General. The resulting combination of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar was good for 10th place on the Top 100 Importers, with 13,000 stores and more than 135,100 TEUs. ■ MeadWestvaco and RockTenn are combining as WestRock, a new company, which climbed to seventh place among exporters. A U.S. antitrust review has cleared, and the deal should close in June. ■ DuPont, which ranked sixth among exporters and 87th among importers, will split in two on July 1, with the chemical business separated into Chemours, a new company. ■ 20th-ranked Archer Daniels Midland is shedding some of its portfolio of ingredients-related units, with its global cocoa business going to 67th-ranked Olam, and its chocolate business to Cargill, which ranked 16th among exporters. Elsewhere in the rankings, retailers and their suppliers dominated the Top 100 Importers, as they have over the past decade since this ranking was originally developed, and lower-value recyclables and industrial companies led the way on the outbound leg. JOC Contact Marsha Salisbury at marsha.salisbury@ihs.com and follow her on Twitter: @marshsalisbury. Breaking Down the Top 100 By Marsha Salisbury ABOUT THE RANKINGS The Journal of Commerce's annual Top 100 U.S. Importers and Exporters ranking begins with data from PIERS, a sister product of the JOC within IHS Maritime & Trade, and is enhanced by information gathered from other industry sources. The fi gures are expressed in 20-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, the most common 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 2014. 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 bank- ruptcy 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. These rankings represent our best approximation of the total international oceanborne shipments by these companies and their subsidiaries. We welcome your feedback. FOR ADDITIONAL INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS of the JOC Top 100 Importers and Exporters in 2014 in the U.S. container trade along with emerging trade trends, tune in on June 23 at 2 p.m. ET for a free 75-minute webcast, featuring Research Editor Marsha Salisbury and Executive Editor Chris Brooks. For more information and to register, go to http://tinyurl.com/k8ubr2c.