With all of the recent buzz around the release of the Avengers movie, we began to wonder:  which superhero has the potential to sell the most merchandise?  To answer this question, we looked at shipment data to determine which Avenger had generated the most merchandise shipments between February and April and found that Thor could be consumers’ Avenger of choice with 204 shipments- more than double his Superhero peers.  Next most popular may be Iron Man, having generated 90 shipments, followed by Captain America and the Hulk with 48 and 45 merchandise shipments, respectively.  Though we are not entirely sure what it is about Thor that makes him generate so much more merchandise than the other Avengers, we can assure you that we are willing to check out the movie to find out!

The word from the Panjiva research team: trade activity experienced another healthy bump from March to April.  Specifically, the number of waterborne shipments coming into the U.S. experienced a 11% month-over-month increase from March to April.  Previous year’s March to April changes: +7% in 2011, +4% in 2010, +10% in 2009, +8% in 2008. 

The number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S. also went up — 9% — from March to April.  March-to-April changes in previous years: +6% in 2011, +3% in 2010, +8% in 2009, and +3% in 2008.

Additional notes:

• The percentage of significant manufacturers on the Panjiva Watch List remained at 19%.
• The percentage of significant buyers having done business with a Panjiva Watch List supplier in the preceding three months dropped slightly to 25%.

Methodological notes:

• Manufacturers that have suffered a 50% or greater decline in volume shipped to American customers in the most recent three month period, versus the same period a year ago, are on the Panjiva Watch List.
• “Significant manufacturers” are companies that have sent 10 or more shipments to American customers within the last year.  As of the end of April, there were 94,095 significant manufacturers.
• “Significant buyers” are U.S. companies that have received 10 or more shipments from overseas manufacturers within the last year.  As of the end of April, there were 81,370 significant buyers.

The word from the Panjiva research team: trade activity experienced a healthy bump from February to March.  Specifically, the number of waterborne shipments coming into the U.S. experienced a 14% month-over-month increase from February to March.  Previous year’s February to March changes: +4% in 2011, +3% in 2010, +9% in 2009, -6% in 2008). 

The number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S. also went up — 6% — from February to March.  February-to-March changes in previous years: -0.2% in 2011, +3% in 2010, +2% in 2009, and -5% in 2008.

Additional notes:

• The percentage of significant manufacturers on the Panjiva Watch List remained at 19%.
• The percentage of significant buyers having done business with a Panjiva Watch List supplier in the preceding three months also remained at 26%.

Methodological notes:

• Manufacturers that have suffered a 50% or greater decline in volume shipped to American customers in the most recent three month period, versus the same period a year ago, are on the Panjiva Watch List.
• “Significant manufacturers” are companies that have sent 10 or more shipments to American customers within the last year.  As of the end of March, there were 93,587 significant manufacturers.
• “Significant buyers” are U.S. companies that have received 10 or more shipments from overseas manufacturers within the last year.  As of the end of March, there were 80,486 significant buyers.

The word from the Panjiva research team: trade activity experienced declined significantly, but as expected, from January to February.  Specifically, the number of waterborne shipments coming into the U.S. experienced a 20% month-over-month decline from January to February.  In years past, we’ve seen Chinese New Year-related declines from January to February (-15% in 2011, -4% in 2010, -19% in 2009, -1% in 2008). 

The number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S. also went down — 12% — from January to February.  January-to-February changes in previous years: -8% in 2011, -3% in 2010, -10% in 2009, and +1% in 2008.

Additional notes:

• The percentage of significant manufacturers on the Panjiva Watch List remained at 19%.
• The percentage of significant buyers having done business with a Panjiva Watch List supplier in the preceding three months also remained at 26%.

Methodological notes:

• Manufacturers that have suffered a 50% or greater decline in volume shipped to American customers in the most recent three month period, versus the same period a year ago, are on the Panjiva Watch List.
• “Significant manufacturers” are companies that have sent 10 or more shipments to American customers within the last year.  As of the end of February, there were 93,577 significant manufacturers.
• “Significant buyers” are U.S. companies that have received 10 or more shipments from overseas manufacturers within the last year.  As of the end of February, there were 80,441 significant buyers.

The word from the Panjiva research team: trade activity experienced a significant increase from December to January.  Specifically, the number of waterborne shipments coming into the U.S. experienced a 12% month-over-month increase from December to January.  In years past, we typically saw declines from December to January (-3% from December ‘07 to January ‘08, -2% from December ‘08 to January ‘09, and -3% from December ‘09 to January ‘10).  However, last year, for the first time, we saw a significant increase (17%) from December to January. 

The number of global manufacturers shipping to the U.S. went up 3% from December to January.  December-to-January changes in previous years: +6% from December 2010 to January 2011, -5% from December 2009 to January 2010, -6% from December 2008 to January 2009, and -4% from December 2007 to January 2008.

Additional notes:

• The percentage of significant manufacturers on the Panjiva Watch List declined slightly from 20% to 19%.
• The percentage of significant buyers having done business with a Panjiva Watch List supplier in the preceding three months also decreased slightly from 27% to 26%.

Methodological notes:

• Manufacturers that have suffered a 50% or greater decline in volume shipped to American customers in the most recent three month period, versus the same period a year ago, are on the Panjiva Watch List.
• “Significant manufacturers” are companies that have sent 10 or more shipments to American customers within the last year.  As of the end of January, there were 95,054 significant manufacturers.
• “Significant buyers” are U.S. companies that have received 10 or more shipments from overseas manufacturers within the last year.  As of the end of January, there were 81,409 significant buyers.