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Miami-Italy Annual Report: No. 15 trade partner- Italian luxury captivates Miami

July 27th, 2006

From yachts to Italian marble, luxury products dominated the trade exchange between South Florida and Italy.

South Florida imported nearly $1 billion more in products from Italy mostly yachts, powerboats, granite, marble and furniture than it sent to the European country in 2005.

Miami Customs District imports from Italy reached $1.1 billion last year, up from $1 billion in 2004. Exports, meanwhile, surpassed $189 million, an increase of 14 percent from a year earlier.

Yachts were the most valuable Italian imports for South Florida, with the Miami Customs District processing nearly $163 million-worth of the pleasure craft in 2005. That was up from $137 million a year earlier.

Many of the yacht imports came from manufacturers that included the Ferretti Group, Azimut-Benetti and Messina-based Rodriquez Group. Because of South Florida’s position as an import yacht-sales hub, several Italian boat retailers have a presence in the greater Miami area. They include Aprea Mare and the Ferretti Group USA in Fort Lauderdale and Bertram Yacht in Miami. Italy’s new trade office in Miami, which opened in March, is focused on particular commodities, with yachts being the most important one.

South Florida’s real estate and construction booms have fueled demand for Italian tiles and other construction materials. Ceramic tiles were the second most important import, swelling 4 percent to total nearly $85 million. At the same time, South Florida imports of Italian marble and granite reached nearly $70 million mark, up almost 20 percent from 2004.

In early 2005, the Italian Trade Commission and the Association of Italian Manufacturers organized an exhibition called “Luxury in Living, Italian Designers for Italian Industries” in Miami’s Design District with a goal of promoting other Italian-made products such as furniture, lighting, fixtures and silverware. Already last year, South Florida imported $61.5 million in home furnishings, although that was down slightly from the nearly $63 million imported in 2004. Of the total, $19 million was wooden cabinets and $13 million was bedroom furniture.

South Florida also imported $45 million in chairs, compared to $50 million in 2004.

Club House Italia, Compagnia del Mobile and Frau Atlantica Furniture are among South Florida’s importers of Italian furniture.

Imports of jewelry, another Italian luxury item, remained nearly flat with a value of nearly $83 million in 2005, but they moved up a notch on the import roster, clocking in at the No. 3 spot. Italian jewelry imports were hurt by the weakness of the U.S. dollar against the euro, as well as by lower-cost competition from China and India.

Italian wine imports saw a considerable increase, rising 15 percent to $53 million. Imports and red and white wines were nearly evenly split.

Port Everglades processed $44 million in imports of Italian oil products last year, a jump of 83 percent. Part of the increase stemmed from the rising value of petroleum products in the global market, but much of it had to do with oil-industry disruptions caused by hurricane damage to Gulf Coast refineries in September and October 2005. Italy is one of the European members of the International Energy Agency, which is set up to help avert oil shortages around the world. The IEA has 26 members, including the United States; 21 members are in Europe.

One commodity synonymous with Italy leather shoes suffered a setback in 2005 owing to cheaper Chinese footwear on world markets. South Florida imported less than $24 million-worth of Italian shoes, a drop of 13 percent from the year earlier. Miami-area importers of Italian shoes included Salvatore Ferragamo, Moreschi Shoes, Falc USA and Fendi Casa.

While the United States was imported Italian yachts, Italy was importing U.S. yachts. Yachts were the most valuable commodity leaving the Miami Customs District for Italy, although the $36 million-worth of shipments reflected a 24 percent decrease from 2004.

Exports of airplane parts also plummeted, reaching just more than $9 million, compared with $14.5 million a year earlier. Exports of parts for regional jet planes fared better, however. They rose 4 percent to close the year at more than $5 million.

On the export side, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and computers proved to be the best-performing commodities in 2005. Drug industry exports jumped 71 percent during the period to $29 million while medical equipment and instruments reached $17.1 million, up 14 percent.

Computer exports, meanwhile, gained 31.5 percent to total nearly $9 million.