WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—U.S. suppliers upped their imports of kids’ bikes by 678,433 units across all juvenile categories through the first quarter, according to numbers from the Department of Commerce. That represents a 48 percent increase over last year.
However, most of these kids’ bikes are destined for Wal-Mart and Target. Last year importers brought in 2.07 million fewer kids’ bikes than in 2008.
Also showing a big rebound in the first quarter were imports from China, which were up 784,484 units or 33 percent in all categories compared to the first quarter of 2009. Though better than last year, Chinese imports are still down compared to the same quarters in 2007 and 2008.
Meanwhile, imports from Taiwan are still behind, lagging 26 percent through the first three months of the year. Taiwanese suppliers found it particularly hard to sell adult bikes into the U.S. market, though they picked up a few units in kids’ categories.
Imports across all categories were up 29 percent through the first quarter.
—Matt Wiebe
mwiebe@bicycleretailer.com
