Value Of Imports Slipped 0.5% In '01

The dollar value of sporting goods imported into the U.S. decreased by 0.5% in 2001. Imports had declined by 3.9% from 1997 to 1999, and grew by 7% from 1999 to 2000. This is the main finding of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association's analysis of the U.S. Commerce Department's statistical data on imports of athletic footwear, jogging/warm-up apparel and 14 sports equipment categories.

SGMA reports that the total declared value of U.S. sporting goods imports for 2001 was $8.05 billion compared with $8.09 billion for 2000.

For 2001, total sporting goods equipment imports increased by 3.5%, but athletic footwear declined by 5% and jogging/warm-up apparel imports fell by 3.3%. Total athletic footwear import dollar value totaled $3.82 billion and pairage decreased by 5.5% to 379.6 million pairs compared with 401.7 million in 2000. Average price per pair declined from $10.07 in 2000 to $10.01 in 2001.

Among the major equipment categories, golf balls (+122%), archery arrows (+105%) and billiard tables (+93%), topped the list of growth items. Imports of tennis equipment: miscellaneous (-28%) and racquet strings (-19%); and rollerskates/parts (-16%) had the largest declines in dollar value.

The sports equipment export leaders are Mainland China (45.3%), Taiwan (11.6%), Mexico (4.2%), and South Korea (3.8%). China's share rose from 41.4% to 45.3%, much less than the growth in 2000. Market shares for Taiwan, Mexico, and South Korea all declined from 2000 to 2001.

Mainland China is the dominant exporter of athletic footwear to the U.S., a market share of 76% of the total dollar value in 2001. China's share has increased steadily from 1998 (67.4%) to 2001 (76.4%). Market shares for Indonesia and Vietnam also rose in 2001.

The statistics on import volume in the SGMA report, while based on official U.S. Commerce Department data, should not be used as the sole basis for developing an estimate of total sporting goods imports, because the product coverage in the report is limited to athletic footwear, archery, baseball, softball, gym/exercise, billiards, bowling, golf, ski, racquet sports, fishing, backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, rollerskates, ice hockey, sports gloves, sports nets, sailboards, water skis and some miscellaneous sports equipment. Only jogging/warm-up apparel data is available.

The U.S. Commerce Department's coverage of athletic clothing and activewear is minimal in relation to the total amount of products actually imported in these categories. But specific import data for jogging/warm-up apparel, such as jackets, pants and sweatshirts is reported. For 2001 the total dollar values for these apparel items was $746.5 million, an increase of 6.2% from the $703 million in 2000.