@Risk

Counterfeit products are penetrating supply chains deeper than ever before, and they threaten more than just your company’s bottom line. Fake components pose a risk to your intellectual property, your reputation, and your warranties and returns. In some cases, even the end users’ health and safety can be compromised, as well.

So are you curious about the latest statistics on counterfeit goods at US borders? Here are some interesting findings from the FY 2009 annual report recently released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement:

• In FY 2009, federal officials made 14,841 seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods.

• The domestic value of the goods was $260.7 million. (The agencies calculate domestic value by estimating the cost of making the illegal goods in a foreign country, then adding the shipping and other costs required to bring the merchandise in to the US.)

• 79 percent of the total seizure value came from China. Hong Kong was second on the list of source countries, accounting for 10 percent of domestic value.

• For the fourth year in a row, footwear was the top commodity seized. Federal officials estimate this counterfeit footwear had a domestic value of $99.7M, which amounts to 38 percent of the entire value of infringing goods.

Here’s the complete list of the top 10 commodities seized (along with the percentage of total domestic value for each):

Footwear (38%)
Consumer electronics (12%)
Handbags/wallets/backpacks (8%)
Wearing apparel (8%)
Watches/parts (6%)
Computers/hardware (5%)
Media (4%)
Pharmaceuticals (4%)
Jewelry (4%)
Toys/electronic games (2%)
All other (8%)

According to the report, imports from China accounted for more than 62 percent of the seizures that posed a safety or security risk. India was the second highest source country for these types of high risk goods.

Compared to FY 2008, the total number of seizures actually declined slightly (one percent). Likewise, the total value of the 2009 seizures was also down (four percent). However, the median value of seizures increased — from $674 in FY 2008 up to $850 in FY 2009.

The full report is available here.