Editor's note: An earlier version of this article indicated that Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017. Although Sears Canada did so, and subsequently liquidated earlier this year, that business was spun off from the group in 2012 and doesn't reflect the Sears Holdings business.

Shippers share two major challenges this year that make the outlook for those on the JOC’s Top 100 Importers and Exporters and smaller beneficial cargo owners more potentially fraught than usual.

For one, they are being forced to plan in the midst of global trade policy uncertainty. And second, they are dealing with highly asymmetrical market conditions between international and domestic transportation modes.

On the trade policy side, the United States’ posture toward tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has created an environment where virtually every importer and exporter has to consider the impact to their business of a possible tit-for-tat trade skirmish. And on the freight side, the exceedingly tight North American surface transportation market is at odds with the relatively slack ocean freight market.

Both dynamics are always in the background for logistics practitioners, but the degree to which they are heightened this year isn’t so typical and is a source of pronounced consternation for international shippers.

Yet while uncertainty lingers, it hasn’t had a major impact on trade volumes; in fact, it may be stirring some unexpected early containerized growth.

“The threat to impose up to $150 billion in US import tariffs on Chinese exports still stands [as does China’s threatened retaliation in kind] but those tariffs are still pending,” Analyst Paul Bingham wrote in Hackett Associates’ Global Port Tracker report this month. “Somewhat ironically, overall commodity trade volumes, including US imports, have increased, likely as a response to trade threats. Market psychology regarding potential, future, additional tariffs has affected trade behavior quickly, not surprisingly. Following the US trade policy announcements this year it appears some companies have accelerated shipments.”

Hackett Associates is projecting North American containerized trade volume for 2018 to rise 5.3 percent to 24.7 million TEU. That’s roughly in line with the 4.9 percent growth in containerized trade for 2018 forecast in January by IHS Markit, parent company of JOC.com.

Maritime consultant Drewry recently pegged supply growth in the container shipping industry at 4.2 percent this year.

The US tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and Chinese retaliation threaten roughly 887,000 TEU, or 6.6 percent of the total US container trade with China and 2.5 percent of total US container volume, according to a JOC analysis of PIERS data, though the ultimate impact of the threatened tariffs remains unclear.

The threats have alarmed global and US economy watchers and raised suspicions that China is trying to squeeze US exporters of waste, pork, and fresh fruits with ramped up container inspections. As of late May, the Trump administation was hinting it would ease sanctions on ZTE, a Chinese telecommuniations company that has drawn the scrutiny of some in the US security community, in exhange for China’s removal of tariffs on US agriculture exports.

Amid the back-and-forth, the major economic forces still look strong. Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit, said global economic growth will likely be sustained between 3 and 3.5 percent over the next couple of years. There’s more tempered growth projected for US GDP, at 2.8 percent for 2018 and 2019.

“The reality is that the business cycles of the world’s major economies are mostly out of phase with one another,” Behravesh wrote in a May 11 global economic outlook note. “Specifically, the cycles in the US, UK, German, and Canadian economies are in a mature phase, whereas the eurozone and Japanese economies are in earlier stages of expansion.”

Smooth oceans, choppy land

Carolyn Glynn, senior manager of international freight and customs compliance at Igloo Products, said her company’s negotiations with its steamship lines and non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) went smoothly this year. Glynn noted that consolidation in the carrier industry has resulted in what she characterized as enhanced customer service.

“I’m not sure this has been everybody’s experience, but we definitely noticed more of an emphasis on customer service,” she said, adding that her carrier has set up a concierge service for the Igloo account.

Glynn intimated that the focus on customer service is likely due to carriers being freed up to focus more on service and less on cost, with fewer participants potentially driving down market rates.

Igloo, which didn’t make the Top 100 list, predominantly ships all-water from six points in Asia through Houston, and generally uses one carrier and one to two NVOCCs.

Perhaps a bigger imminent challenge for shippers than the pending imposition of tariffs is the extreme dichotomy between conditions in the ocean freight market and those in the US trucking market.

“Precious few shippers only have to worry about containers coming into the United States,” said Foster Finley, a managing director and leader of the transportation practice at AlixPartners. “They also have to worry about surface transportation to points of consumption inside the country.”

Finley said the asymmetry of the international and domestic freight market conditions puts a greater onus on shippers to manage modes more in unison.

“More shippers have become more sophisticated and are looking at transportation more holistically,” he said. “The [chief financial officer] and the chief supply chain officer are asking questions — what’s the total cost and what are the factors associated with that? The management of many of these companies is looking at it from a broad perspective. That forces domestic and international to work with each other, because they’re not discrete pieces to be managed separately.”

According to April data from Wolfe Research’s quarterly State of the Freight report, which surveys shippers across a range of verticals, ocean rates are expected to increase 0.3 percent year over year in the next 12 months, down from 3.4 percent a year ago. That’s the lowest pricing expectation since before the August 2016 Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy, the report notes.

Meanwhile, the same report found that shippers expect to see a 5.2 percent increase in truckload rates and a 3.4 percent bump in less-than-truckload rates during the next year. Both are the highest expectations in the history of Wolfe’s survey.

An e-commerce future?

This year’s Top 100 Importers list looks largely familiar to those of years past, but the shifting sands beneath the retail sector are taking a toll on some household names on the list.

Toys”R”Us (No. 40) declared bankruptcy as part of an especially vicious retail reckoning in 2017, while Sears (No. 15 on the importers’ list), J.C. Penney (No. 16) and Macy’s (No. 56) are said to be struggling. It’s unclear what prolonged impact Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods means for the rest of the grocery retail sector, but Kroger (No. 73) and even discount retailers such as Walmart (No. 1), Target (No. 2), Family Dollar/Dollar Tree (No. 7), Cosco (No. 14), and Dollar General (No. 48) could be impacted.

The Top 100 Exporters list is, as usual, dominated by commodities shippers, especially in the paper goods, agriculture, food, chemicals, and recyclables industries. Aside from concerns that US tariffs on certain imports might rebound on US exporters, shippers in the wastepaper industry have also grappled with restrictions on their ability to export to China.

And then there’s the looming impact of e-commerce. Most experts contacted by JOC.com have yet to make a material shift in how they procure ocean capacity as it relates to e-commerce orders, but explosive growth in e-commerce sales and direct-to-consumer deliveries could reshape the pattern of import volumes at US ports in the years to come. For now, few companies have distinct e-commerce and traditional sales channel supply chains that stretch beyond fulfillment or final-mile legs.

“Direct-to-consumer is big and high profile mainly because it touches the consumer,” Finley said. “We see all sorts of developments, but at the end of the day, it does not tend to have the impact that business-to-business transactions have.”

Overall consumer confidence, in e-commerce and more generally, is driving growth for imports, said Ben Hackett, principal at Hackett Associates.

“Despite the threats and risks to trade, we continue to see solid expansion, and our models are projecting this to continue throughout the year, although at a slower pace than last year,” he wrote in the latest Global Port Tracker. “The main reason is that the consumer is spending more than his net personal income and is also drawing down on savings.”

Meanwhile, a stronger dollar doesn’t portend well for exports, which grew a nominal 1.2 percent year over year in 2017 to 12.5 million TEU, according to PIERS, a sister company of JOC.com.

Searching for contingency plans

The threat of import tariffs is compelling some shippers to set up contingency plans around transportation networks and sourcing locations, Finley said. One of AlixPartners’ clients, he said, engaged the firm a year ago around a profitable and fast-growing product it was sourcing in Asia.

“They wanted to know, if we are forced to discontinue, we need to know what our alternatives are,” he said. “We went through with them where in the United States could these products be made; we did proformas on landed costs in Asia and the United States. And not surprisingly, it was obnoxiously high. So, it pivoted quickly from contingency plans to getting pretty precise about inflection point.

“Every one of these conversations gets to a tipping point: where is the point where tariffs, or lack thereof, force you in one direction or the other,” Finley said.

AlixPartners stresses seven variables when advising clients on where to source, he said: the cost of local materials, overhead, local labor, transport inbound (country of origin to country of destination), buffer inventory, tariffs, and foreign exchange. “Six of the seven are independent variables where it helps to look at historical patterns, but tariffs are purely capricious,” Finley said. “There’s not much utility in trying to forecast that.”

Glynn agreed. “It’s on our radar, but we’re sitting back and waiting to see because it’s too early to know what will happen,” she said. “We don’t want to focus on the wrong segments to guess what the government wants to do. Pulling the trigger prematurely can cost you. Especially if you’ve made the wrong assumption.”  

THE JOC TOP 100 IMPORTERS

IMPORTERS

US FOREIGN TRADE VIA OCEAN CONTAINER TRANSPORT

2017 Rank	JOC Top 100 Importers	TEU in 2017	Headquarters	Website	Sector	Notes
1	Walmart	874,800	Bentonville, Ark.	www.walmartstores.com	Retail	Company changed its name to Walmart, stepping up its grocery and retail business in stores and online.
2	Target	590,300	Minneapolis	www.target.com	Retail	Target has more than 1,800 stores and 39 distribution centers in the United States.
3	Home Depot	388,000	Atlanta	www.homedepot.com	Retail
4	Lowe's	287,500	Mooresville, NC	www.lowes.com	Retail
5	Dole Food	220,200	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	www.dole.com	Fruit and vegetables
6	Samsung America	184,800	Ridgefield Park, NJ	www.samsung.com	Conglomerate
7	Family Dollar Stores/Dollar Tree	168,400	Matthews, NC, Chesapeake, Va.	www.familydollar.com	Retail
8	LG Group	161,600	Englewood Cliffs, NJ	www.lgcorp.com	Conglomerate	New $3.7 billion science park opened in April in western Seoul, comprising 20 research buildings.
9	Philips Electronics North America	142,900	Andover, Mass.	www.usa.philips.com	Electronics	Company focuses on technology to enrich personal health, diagnosis and treatment, and care and health infomatics.
10	IKEA International	120,500	Conshohocken, Pa.	www.ikea.com	Retail	IKEA has made significant investments in the United States, opening four new stores in 2017 and one new distribution and customer fulfilment center.
11	Chiquita Brands International	117,500	Charlotte, NC	www.chiquita.com	Fresh fruit and vegetables	Chiquita is investing in 2,500 new energy-efficient reefer containers from Maersk Container Industry to improve banana quality and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
12	Nike	116,300	Beaverton, Ore.	www.nikebiz.com	Footwear and apparel
13	Newell Brands	115,400	Hoboken, NJ	http://www.newellbrands.com	Outdoor and home goods	Newell Brands is selling The Waddington Group, its global consumer and commercial package manufacturing business, to Novolex Holdings, a provider of paper and plastics packaging products.
14	Costco Wholesale	111,700	Issaquah, Wash.	www.cosco.com	Retail
15	Sears Holdings	103,200	Hoffman Estates, Ill.	www.searsholdings.com	Retail-consumer goods	ESL Investments expresses interest in participating as a buyer of Kenmore, SHIP, and PartsDirect if Sears Holdings decides to divest all or a portion of those assets.
16	J.C. Penney	101,100	Plano, Texas	www.jcpenney.net	Retail	J.C. Penney added toy shops in all of its brick-and-mortar stories and entered into a partnership with LEGO.
17	General Electric	92,300	Fairfield, Conn.	www.ge,com	Conglomerate	GE Healthcare is launching a ready-to-run factory-in-a-box to speed up production of viral vector-based therapeutics, such as vaccines, oncolytic viruses, and gene and cell therapies.
18	Ashley Furniture Industries	85,700	Arcadia, Wis.	www.ashleyfurniture.com	Furniture
19	Whirlpool	74,700	Benton Harbor, Mich.	www.whirlpool.com	Appliances	Whirlpool has agreed to sell its Embraco compressor business in Brazil to Nidec Corp., a motor manufacturer in Japan with 300 subsidiaries.
20	Heineken USA	73,100	White Plains, NY	www.heinekeninternational.com	Beverages	Brands include Heineken Lager, Heineken Light, Amstel Light, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Strongbow Hard Cider. The company also imports Dos Equis, Tecate, Indio, Carta Blanca, and Bohema brands from Mexico.
21	Williams-Sonoma	70,400	San Francisco, Calif.	www.williams-sonomainc.com	Retail
22	Red Bull North America	63,700	Santa Monica, Calif.	www.redbull.com	Beverages	More than 6.3 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide in 2017, up 4 percent from 2016.
23	Gap Stores	61,800	San Francisco, Calif.	www.gap.com	Retail	Old Navy to open more than 60 stores this year.
24	LKQ	61,100	Chicago, Ill.	www.lkqcorp.com	Auto parts	Acquired Warn Industries in November.
25	Rooms to Go	59,000	Seffner, Fla.	www.roomstogo.com	Retail furniture
26	Pier 1 Imports	55,000	Fort Worth, Texas	www.pier1.com	Retail	Pier 1 Imports plans to close up to 25 stores in the next two years.
27	Kohl's	51,700	Menomonee, Wis.	www.kohls.com	Retail	Partnered with Amazon in 2017 to accept Amazon returns and host Amazon kiosks.
28	Staples	50,400	Framingham, Mass.	www.staples.com	Retail	Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm based in New York, acquired Staples in September 2017.
29	Michaels Stores	49,600	Irving, Texas	www.michaels.com	Retail
30	Dorel Industries	49,500	Montreal, Canada	www.dorel.com	Furniture/bicycles
31	Fresh Del Monte Produce	49,200	Coral Gables, Fla.	www.delmonte.com	Foods
32	Hankook Tire America	48,700	Wayne, NJ	www.hankooktireusa.com	Tires	Opened new production plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, in October 2017.
33	Toyota Tsusho America	48,200	Georgetown, Ky.	www.taiamerica.com	Conglomerate	Discussing liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fuel bunkering in Japan with "K" Line and NYK Line.
34	Anheuser Busch InBev	47,200	St. Louis, Mo.	www.ab-inbev.com	Beverages	Merged Russia and Ukraine business with Turkey's Anadolu Efes.
35	Mercedes Benz USA/Daimler Trucks	46,900	Atlanta, Portland	www.mbusa.com www.daimler.com	Automotive goods	Established an apprenticeship program through US Department of Labor and US Department of Veterans Affairs in August.
35	VF Corp.	46,900	Greensboro, NC	www.vfc.com	Apparel and footwear	VF acquired Williamson-Dickie Mfg, which includes brands Dickies, Workrite, Kodiak, Terra and Walls. It also acquired Icebreaker, which features Merino wool in its clothing and accessories, a complement to VF's Smartwool brand.
37	Sony Corp. of America	44,600	New York	www.sony.com	Electronics
38	Nestle US/Nestle Waters	44,500	Glendale, Calif.; St. Louis, Mo.; Greenwich, Conn.	www.nestle.com	Food/beverages/pet food	Broke ground on new production facilities in Cuba and Russia.
39	Hewlett-Packard	44,000	Palo Alto, Calif.	www.hp.com	Computer technology	Committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions another 25 percent.
40	TJX	43,500	Framingham, Mass.	www.tjx.com	Retail
41	Toys 'R' Us	42,300	Wayne, NJ	www.toysrusinc.com	Toys-Retail	Entered bankruptcy in September.
42	Michelin North America	41,300	Greenville, SC	www.michelin.com	Mfg-tire and rubber
43	MS International	39,700	Orange, Calif.	www.msistone.com	Countertops and flooring	Opened showrooms in Cleveland, Ohio, and San Diego, California, in 2017.
44	BMW of North America	38,200	Woodcliff Lake, NJ Spartansburg, SC	bmwusa.com www.bmwusfactory.com bmwgroup.com	Automotive goods	BMW teamed with Daimler, Ford, Volkswagen Group to build network for electric vehicle charging in Europe.
45	Southern Wines & Spirits of America	37,700	Miami, Fla.	www.southernwine.com	Beverages
46	Arauco Wood Products	37,200	Atlanta, Georgia	www.arauco.cl	Forest products	Began operations in Europe and South Africa.
47	Canon USA	36,500	Melville, NY	www.canon.com	Photo imaging
48	Big Lots	35,900	Columbus, Ohio	www.biglotscorporate.com	Closeout retail	Opened new stores in Grandview, Ohio, and Mesa, Arizona.
49	Dollar General	35,600	Goodlettsville, Tenn.	www.dollargeneral.com	Retail
50	SOL Group Marketing	35,200	Pompano Beach, Fla.	www.solgroup-marketing.com	Fruit
51	Panasonic Corp of North America	34,900	Newark, NJ	www.panasonic.com	Electronics	Acquired deep learning company Arimo in October.
52	Continental Tire	34,600	Fort Mill, SC	www.continentaltire.com	Tires
53	Electrolux	34,200	Charlotte, NC; Stockholm	www.electrolux.com	Appliances	Launched three new lines of dishwashers.
54	Bed Bath & Beyond	33,500	Union, NJ	www.bedbathandbeyond.com	Retail	Accelerated reorganization of store management structure.
55	Best Buy	33,000	Richfield, Minn.	www.bestbuy.com	Retail	Pledged to reduce carbon emissions 60 percent by 2020.
56	Sumitomo	32,000	New York	www.sumitomocorp.co.jp/english/	Conglomerate	Began work to convey information using virtual reality methods.
57	Macy's	31,300	Cincinnati, Ohio	www.federated-fds.com	Retail	Expanded same-day delivery to 33 markets.
58	Hanes Brands	30,700	Winston-Salem, NC	www.hanesbrands.com	Apparel
59	Bob's Discount Furniture	29,700	Manchester, Conn.	www.mybobs.com	Furniture retailer	Opened new headquarters building in October.
60	Coaster of America	29,400	Santa Fe Springs, Calif.	www.coastercompany.com	Furniture
61	Hasbro	28,300	Pawtucket, RI	www.hasbro.com	Toys	Launched gaming subscription service that sends games to customers' homes.
62	Ross Stores	27,900	Pleasanton, Calif.	www.rossstores.com	Retail	Opened 96 new stores in 2017.
63	Mobis Parts America	27,800	West Point, Ga.; Mongomery, Ala.	www.mobisalabama.com	Auto parts
64	Adidas Group	27,700	Portland, Ore.	www.adidas-group.com	Footwear and apparel
65	Hyundai Motor Manufacturing	27,600	Montgomery, Ala.	www.hmmausa.com	Motor Vehicles	Manufactured 5 millionth engine in March 2017.
66	Gildan Activewear	27,500	Montreal, Canada	www.gildan.com	Apparel mfg.	Acquired American Apparel for $88 million in January 2017.
67	Kubota Tractor	27,300	Torrence, Calif.	www.kubota.com	Tractors and agri tools	Announced plans to create $87-million logistcs hub in Edgerton, Kansas.
68	Caterpillar	26,500	Peoria, Ill.	www.caterpillar.com	Mfg-machinery	Established a global headquarters in Chicago.
69	Goodyear Rubber & Tire	26,400	Akron, Ohio	corporate.goodyear.com	Tires	Goodyear and Bridgestone are forming one of the largest US tire distribution joint ventures (JVs). With the scale to reach the vast majority of US retailers daily, TireHub will provide a comprehensive range of passenger and light truck tires.
70	Mattel	26,000	El Segundo, Calif.	www.mattel.com	Toys	Opened an East Coast distribution center in Jonestown, Pennsylvania in July.
71	Itochu International	25,900	New York	www.itochu.com	Diversified	Recieved "A" financial rating from Moody's for first time in 20 years.
72	Kroger	25,400	Cincinnati, Ohio	ir.kroger.com	Retail	Merged with Murray's Cheese.
73	Heritage Home Group	23,600	High Point, NC	www.heritagehome.com	Furniture
74	Bridgestone Americas	23,400	Nashville, Tenn.	www.bridgestoneamericas.com	Tires, auto products	Bridgestone and Goodyear are forming one of the largest US tire distribution JVs. With the scale to reach the vast majority of US retailers daily, TireHub will provide a comprehensive range of passenger and light truck tires.
74	Haier America Trading	23,400	Wayne, NJ	www.haierappliances.com	Appliances	GE Appliances, a division of Haier America Trading, has expanded production at its Monogram Refrigeration plant in Selmer, Tennessee.
76	Skechers USA	21,900	Manhattan Beach, Calif.	www.skechers.com	Apparel and footwear
76	Hon Hai Precision Industries	21,900	Houston	www.foxconn.com	Electronics
78	Berkshire Hathaway	21,700	Throughout United States	www.berkshirehathaway.com	Diversified	Made minority investment in Pilot Flying J.
79	Shark Ninja	21,500	Newton, Mass.	www.sharkninja.com	Appliances
80	L Brands	21,200	Columbus, Ohio	www.lb.com	Retail	Brands include Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works, PINK, La Senza, and Henri Bendel.
81	PVH	21,000	New York	www.pvh.com	Apparel	PVH operates businesses in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, maximizing the potential of its Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Heritage Brands.
82	Joann Fabric and Craft Stores	20,900	Hudson, Ohio	www.joann.com	Retail
83	Bissell Homecare	20,800	Grand Rapids, Mich.	www.bissell.com	Household	Global supplier of vacuums, sweepers, carpet-cleaning machines, and cleaning formulas.
84	Marubeni America	20,600	New York	www.marubeni-usa.com	Conglomerate	Marubeni trades in commodities, agricultural goods, machinery, energy products, and natural resources.
85	Conair	20,500	East Windsor, NJ	www.conair.com	Appliances and personal care	Conair sells professional salon products, personal care products, consumer and commercial kitchen appliances, and cookware under more than 25 brand names throughout the world.
85	Walgreens Boots Alliance	20,500	Deerfield, Ill.	www.walgreensbootsalliance.com	Retail
87	Fonterra USA	20,400	Rosemont, Ill.	www.fonterra.com	Dairy products	Fronterra is testing delivery of Anchor products from New Zealand to China using blockchain technology to improve supply chain traceability and transparency.
88	Yokohama Tire	20,200	Fullerton, Calif.	www.yokohamatire.com	Tires
89	First Solar	20,000	Tempe, Ariz.	www.firstsolar.com	Solar	First Solar plans to build a new solar module manufacturing facility near its existing Perrysburg, Ohio, plant. The company also has production facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam.
90	American Honda Motor, Honda North America	19,900	Torrance, Calif. Marysville, Ohio	honda.com americas.hondatrading.com hondainamerica.com	Automotive goods
91	DuPont	19,200	Wilmington, Del.	www.dupont.com	Diversified	DuPont and Archer Daniels Midland opened the world's first biobased furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) pilot production facility in Illinois. FDME is derived from fructose and can be used to create plastics.
91	CVS Health	19,200	Woonsocket, RI	www.cvs.com	Retail
93	Samsonite	19,000	Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong	www.samsonite.com	Luggage	Samsonite is opening new stores in China and Hong Kong this year.
94	Tractor Supply	18,800	Brentwood, Tenn.	www.tractorsupply.com	Retail	Tractor Supply offers products for the home, land, pets, and animals, with stores in 49 states.
95	Raymour & Flanigan Furniture	18,600	Liverpool, NY	www.raymourflanigan.com	Retail
96	Nissan North America/Nissan Trading	18,500	Franklin, Tenn.; Farmington Hills, Mich.	www.nissanusa.com	Automobiles	Nissan operates these manufacturing facilities in the United States — in Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee, and Canton, Mississippi.
97	Giti Tire USA	17,900	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.	www.giti.com	Tires	Giti Tire began production at its $560-million Richburg, South Carolina, factory in October 2017, with initial production focused on Dextero-brand tires for Walmart.
98	E&E	17,500	Fremont, Calif.	www.ee1994.com	Furniture	E&E does business as JLA Home, designing, making, and supplying home furnishings.
99	Euromarket Designs	17,300	Northbrook, Ill.	www.crateandbarrel.com	Retail	Euromarket Designs operates as Crate and Barrel, specializing in sales of housewares, furniture, and home accessories.
100	Under Armour	17,200	Balitmore, Md.	www.underarmous.com/en-us	Apparel	Created global innovation hub for footwear design in Portland, Oregon.

THE JOC TOP 100 EXPORTERS

EXPORTERS

US FOREIGN TRADE VIA OCEAN CONTAINER TRANSPORT

2017 Rank	JOC Top 100 EXporters	TEU in 2017	Headquarters	Website	Sector	Notes
1	America Chung Nam	284,500	City of Industry, Calif.	www.acni.net	Paper and plastics recyclables	ACN is the largest exporter of recovered paper in the United States and a leading exporter in Europe and Asia. China's waste import ban to impact export volume.
2	International Paper	248,400	Memphis, Tenn.	www.ipaper.com	Paper/packaging	International Paper's Foodservice Business and Coated Paperboard divisions became part of Graphic Packaging International effective Jan. 1, 2018.
3	Ralison International	130,100	Diamond Bar, Calif.	www.ralison.net	Paper/recyclables
4	Koch Industries	120,800	Wichita, Kan.	www.kochind.com	Conglomerate	Koch Industries is investing in Mesosphere, a cloud computing startup, which plans to develop new projects with Koch.
5	International Forest Products	109,400	Foxboro, Mass.	www.ifpcorp.com	Packaging/paper products/pulp/forest products/recyclables
6	DeLong	106,600	Clinton, Wis.	www.delongcompany.com	Animal feed/grain
7	WM Recycle America	75,300	Houston, Texas	www.ecare.recycleamerica.com	Diversified/recyclables	WM Recycle America operates nearly 100 plants in the United States and Canada.
8	Shintech	73,800	Houston, Texas	www.shintechinc.com	Chemicals	Shintech is the largest producer of polyvinyl chloride in the United States.
9	Louis Dreyfus Commodities	68,200	Cordova, Tenn.	www.ldcom.com	Cotton/diversified
10	WestRock	66,300	Norcross, Ga.	www.westrock.com	Paper/packaging	WestRock and KapStone signed a merger agreement in January that is subject to approval by US regulators. The deal would combine two of the top 5 US paper and packaging companies.
11	JBS USA	65,400	Greeley, Colo.	www.jbssa.com	Refrigerated meats/poultry	JBS offers global customers chicken, beef, and pork products under brand names such as Pilgrim's, Swift, Blue Ribbon, and La Herenica.
12	ExxonMobil Chemical	63,400	Spring, Texas	www.exxonmobilchemical.com	Chemicals	ExxonMobil is investing in new US facilities to expand chemical manufacturing capacity in North America and Asia Pacific, to meet increasing demand in Asia and other growing markets.
13	Newport CH International	62,100	Orange, Calif.	www.newportchintl.com	Paper/metals/plastics recyclables	A direct export shipper for the paper and plastics recycling industry, shipping to mills in many Asian countries.
14	BMW of North America	61,600	Woodcliff Lake, NJ; Spartansburg, SC	www.bmw.usa.com	Automotive goods
15	Cargill	57,500	Wayzata, Minn.	www.cargill.com	Conglomerate
16	JC Horizon	55,600	Ontario, Calif.	www.jchorizonltd.com	Paper/metals/plastics recyclables	JC Horizon's export markets include China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand.
17	Eastman Chemical	53,800	Kingsport, Tenn.	www.eastman.com	Chemicals/fibers/plastics	Tenite cellulosics from Eastman is being used by a new toy company, Kando Concepts, in its first collection of Animal Word Puzzles.
18	Potential Industries	51,600	Wilmington, Calif.	www.potentialindustries.com	Paper/recyclables
19	Domtar	48,100	Fort Mill, SC; Montreal, Canada	www.domtar.com	Paper/forest products	A producer of market pulp used to make paper, tissue, towels, diapers, and personal hygiene items.
20	Sims Metal Management	47,700	New York	www.simsmm.com	Metals and electronics/recyclables	Operations encompass buying, processing, and selling ferrous and non-ferrous recylcled metals.
20	Cycle Link USA	47,700	Diamond Bar, Calif.	www.cyclelink.com	Paper/recyclables	Cycle Link parent company ShanYing International sees China's new waste regulations as a big challenge for recyclers.
22	Walmart	47,600	Bentonville, Ark.	www.walmartstores.com	Retail	Company changed its name to Walmart in February, stepping up its grocery and retail business in stores and online.
23	Scoular	46,200	Omaha, Neb.	www.scoular.com	Food/grain/feed	A global provider of supply chain solutions for end-users and suppliers of grain, feed, and food ingredients.
24	Weyerhaeuser	45,600	Federal Way, Wash.	www.weyerhaeuser.com	Forest/wood products
25	Defense Logistics Agency/Military Surface Deployment & Distribution Command	43,900	Fort Belvoir, Va. Scott Air Force Base, Ill.	www.dla.mil www.sddc.army.mil	Military goods
26	BASF North America	42,400	Florham Park, NJ	www.basf.us	Chemicals-diversified
27	Archer Daniels Midland	41,500	Chicago, Ill.	www.adm.com	Agriculture	Sold Bolivian oilseeds operations.
28	Cedarwood-Young (Allan Co.)	41,300	Baldwin Park, Calif.	www.allancompany.com	Paper/recyclables
29	Tyson Foods	40,400	Springdale, Ark.	www.tysonfoods.com	Refrigerated meats/poultry	Acquired AdvancePierre Foods for $4.2 billion including debt.
30	Lansing Trade Group	40,200	Overland Park, Kan.	www.lansingtradegroup.com	Animal feed and grain	Acquired agricultural trading business of Interstate Commodities Inc.
31	Olam International	39,600	Fresno, Calif.	www.olamgroup.com	Cotton/spices and vegetables	Expanded biscuit production facility in Tema, Ghana.
32	Rayonier Advanced Materials	37,900	Jacksonville, Fla.	www.rayonieram.com	Chemicals/forest products
33	DuPont	37,600	Wilmington, Del.	www.dupont.com	Diversified	DuPont and Archer Daniels Midland opened the world's first biobased FDME pilot production facility in Illinois. FDME is derived from fructose and can be used to create plastics.
34	Caterpillar	36,900	Peoria, Ill.	www.caterpillar.com	Mfg-machinery	Established a global headquarters in Chicago.
35	Al Dahra ACX Global	35,700	Bakersfield Calif.	www.acxpacific.com	Animal feed/grain
36	OGO Fibers	35,500	Richmond Hill, Ontario; Summerville, SC	www.ogofibers.com	Paper/recyclables
37	PriceSmart	35,000	San Diego	www.pricesmart.com	Membership warehouse club	Opened two new sites in Costa Rica.
38	Smithfield Foods	34,500	Smithfield, Va.	www.smithfieldfoods.com	Food/refrigerated	Completed acquisition of Clougherty Packing.
39	Ravago Group	33,100	Orlando, Fla.	www.ravago.com	Plastics, rubber, and chemicals	Acquired Polymer Technology and Services.
40	Anderson Hay & Grain	31,900	Ellensburg, Wash.	www.anderson-hay.com	Animal feed	Established JV with Agthia Group to distribute in Middle East.
40	Army & Air Force Exchange Service	31,900	Dallas	www.shopmyexchange.com	Retail
42	Dole Food	31,200	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	www.dole.com	Fruit and vegetables
43	Mercedes Benz USA	31,100	Atlanta	www.mbusa.com www.daimler.com	Automotive goods	Established an apprenticeship program through US Department of Labor and US Department of Veterans Affairs in August 2017.
44	Gavilon	30,800	Omaha, Ne.	www.gavilon.com	Animal feed/grain
45	AJC International	30,500	Atlanta	www.ajcfood.com	Food/refrigerated
46	CHS	29,900	Inver Grove Heights, MN	www.chsinc.com	Agriculture/energy/food
47	Gildan Activewear	29,400	Montreal, Canada	www.gildan.com	Apparel Mfg.	Acquired American Apparel for $88 million in January 2017.
48	Procter & Gamble	29,200	Cincinnati, Ohio	www.pg.com	Mfg-consumer products
49	Rio Tinto Minerals	28,500	Greenwood Village, Colo.	www.riotinto.com	Minerals
50	Green Plains Trade	25,500	Omaha, Ne.	www.gpreinc.com	Animal feed
51	Ascend Performance Materials	25,300	Houston, Texas	www.ascendmaterials.com	Chemicals/fibers/plastics
52	Dow Chemical	25,000	Midland, Mich.	www.dow.com	Diversified	Introduced new product line for 3D printing.
53	Berkshire Hathaway Companies	23,600	Throughout United States	www.berkshirehathaway.com	Diversified	Made minority investment in Pilot Flying J.
54	John Deere	22,700	Moline, Ill.	www.deere.com	Mfg-equipment	Introduced new compact wheel loaders.
55	Chemours	22,500	Wilmington, Del.	www.chemours.com	Chemicals	Broke ground on new facility to manufacture chemicals used in mining.
56	Graphic Packaging Holding	22,300	Atlanta,Ga.	www.graphicpkg.com	Paper prodcuts	Acquired International Paper's Foodservice and Coated Paperboard divisions effective Jan. 1, 2018.
57	Interstate Commodities	22,000	Troy, NY	www.icigrain.com	Animal feed/grain
58	Genesis Resource Enterprises	21,600	Springfield, NJ	www.egreen4u.com	Paper/recyclables
58	American Honda Motor, Honda Trading America	21,600	Torrance, Calif.; Marysville, Ohio	honda.com americas.hondatrading.com hondainamerica.com	Automotive goods
60	Prairie Creek Grain	21,400	Elwood, Ill.	www.pcgrain.com	Grain/animal feed
61	Perdue	20,900	Salisburgy, Md.	www.perdue.com	Food
62	Fornazor International	20,500	Hillsdale, NJ	www.fornazor.com	Animal feed
63	3M	20,300	St. Paul, Minn.	www.3m.com	Diversified
64	Michelin North America	19,900	Greenville, SC	www.michelin.com	Mfg-tire and rubber
64	Ford Motor	19,900	Dearborn, Mich.	www.ford.com	Mfg-automobiles	Signed deal with Alibaba to reimagine vehicle ownership.
66	Nestle	19,700	Glendale, Calif.; St. Louis, Mo.; Greenwich, Conn.	www.nestle.com	Food/beverages/pet food	Broke ground on new production facilities in Cuba and Russia.
67	Active Minerals International	19,500	Sparks, Md.	www.activeminerals.com	Minerals
68	Ekman Group	18,800	Gothenburg, Miami, Hong Kong	www.ekman-co.se	Paper/recyclables
69	Toyota Tsusho America	18,700	New York, Georgetown, Ky.	www.taiamerica.com	Automotive goods	Discussing LNG marine fuel bunkering in Japan with "K" Line and NYK Line.
70	Baillie Lumber	18,600	Hamburg, NY	www.baillie.com	Forest/wood products
71	Jordan Trading	18,000	Kingston, NY	https://bit.ly/2rJU0QS	Paper/recyclables
72	Anheuser Busch InBev	17,800	St. Louis, Mo.	www.anheuser-busch.com	Beverages	Merged Russia and Ukraine business with Turkey's Anadolu Efes.
73	Sino Paper	17,200	Anaheim, Calif.	www.sino-paper.com	Paper/recyclables
74	Mills Brothers International	16,800	Seattle, Wash.	www.millsbros.com	Food/grain/feed
75	KaMin	16,400	Macon, Ga.	www.kaminllc.com	Minerals-clay	Opening new office in São Paulo.
76	Mega Fiber	16,300	Brea, Calif.		Paper/recyclables
77	Mitsui & Co.	16,100	New York	www.mitsui.com	Conglomerate
77	KapStone Paper and Packaging	16,100	Northbrook, Ill.	www.kapstonepaper.com	Paper/paper products	WestRock and KapStone signed a merger agreement in January that is subject to approval by US regulators. The deal would combine two of the top 5 US paper and packaging companies.
79	G.A. Paper Intl.	15,900	Tampa, Fla.; Markham, Canada	www.gapaper.com	Paper/recyclables
79	Parkdale Mills	15,900	Gastonia, NC	www.parkdalemills.com	Spun yarns
81	Vinmar International	15,400	Houston, Texas	www.vinmar.com	Chemicals/plastics
82	Alco Iron and Metal	15,300	San Leandro, Calif.	www.alcometals.com	Metal/recyclables
83	Imerys	14,900	Roswell, Ga.	www.imerys.com	Minerals
84	Perez Trading	14,800	Miami, Fla.	www.pereztrading.com	Paper/packaging	Perez Trading is a world source for paper, packaging board, and technology for the graphic arts industry.
84	Advanced Steel Recovery	14,800	Fontana, Calif.	www.advancedsteel.com	Metal/recyclables
86	Defense Commissary Agency	14,700	Fort Lee, VA	www.commissaries.com	Groceries/household items
87	Central National Gottesman	14,500	Purchase, NY	www.cng-inc.com	Paper products/pulp/forest products	The Central National Division sells, markets, and moves paper products and metal to more than 100 global countries.
88	Sears Holdings	14,200	Hoffman Estates, Ill.	www.searsholdings.com	Retail-consumer goods	Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard.
89	CellMark Group	14,000	Norwalk and Stamford, Conn.; Pearl River, NY; San Rafael, Calif.	www.cellmark.com	Diversified
90	David J. Joseph	13,900	Cincinnati, Ohio	www.djj.com	Metal/recyclables	DJJ does business with scrap and scrap substitute suppliers and consumers in South America, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
91	Sappi Cloquet	13,700	Cloquet, Minn.	www.sappi.com	Paper/pulp/paper products	Sappi focuses on providing dissolving wood pulp, specialties and packing papers, graphic and printer papers, and biomaterials and biochemicals to customers in more than 150 countries.
92	Zen Trading	13,600	San Francisco, Calif.		Animal feed/grain
92	Enerfo	13,600	Omaha, Ne.	www.enerfogroup.com	Grain
94	Resolute Forest Products	13,400	Montreal, Canada	www.resolutefp.com	Paper/pulp/wood products	Company owns and operates 40 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada.
94	National Beef	13,400	Kansas City, Mo.	www.nationalbeef.com	Beef	National Beef owners entered into an agreement with NBM US Holdings, an indirect subsidiary of Marfrig Global Foods, in April, under which NBM would acquire 51 percent of ownership of National Beef. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
96	Staple Cotton Cooperative Association	13,300	Greenwood, Miss.	www.staplcotn.com	Cotton	Staplcotn is a 100 percent producer-owned company. Producers globally sell their crops as one company.
97	Evonik	13,200	Parsippany, NJ	www.evonik.com	Chemicals	Company is nearly doubling its capacity for the specialty moulding compounds produced in Arkansas.
98	Border Valley Trading	13,100	Brawley, Calif.	www.bordervalley.net	Animal feed/grain	BVT exports alfalfa and grass hay/straw to markets in China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan, among other locations.
98	Sonoco Products	13,100	Hartsville, SC	www.sonoco.com	Packaging	Sonoco acquired Highland Packaging Solutions, a manufacturer of thermoformed packaging for fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs, in April.
100	Resource Management Cos. Intl.	13,000	City of Industry, Calif.	www.rmcrecycle.com/	Paper/recyclables	RMC International division handles the export of materials generated from material recovery facilities and recycling companies for export to Asia.

 

Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @LogTechEric.

Rankings compiled by Dustin Braden. Contact Dustin Braden at dustin.braden@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @dustin_joc.

About the rankings: The Journal of Commerce’s annual Top 100 US Importers and Exporters rankings begin with data from PIERS, a sister product of The Journal of Commerce within IHS Markit, and are enhanced by information gathered from other industry sources.

The figures are expressed in TEU, the most common measurement of containerized ocean shipping. One standard FEU equals two TEU.

These lists are restricted to shippers — beneficial owners of containerized cargo that entered or exited US ports by ocean vessel during 2017. The statistics do not include shipper associations, carriers, non-vessel-operating common carriers, forwarders or brokers, third-party logistics providers, or “to-order” negotiable bills of lading, or data falling under privacy strictures. International import and export cargoes into and out of the US via air, rail, or truck are not included.

In tandem with last year’s ranking and considerable industry research, the list also identifies corporate subsidiaries and strives to reflect any changes in corporate status related to mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, formal name changes, or bankruptcy filings. We also identify the location of corporate headquarters and, if the global headquarters is outside the US, the parent company. We indicate a website if one is available as well as the industry sector.

These rankings represent our best approximation of the total international oceanborne shipments by these companies and their subsidiaries. We welcome your feedback.