Shipped Where
Imported, 2025Imported 2025
$2 billion$2B
vs 2010
1.1× (nominal)
Arrived by shipBy ship
65%
Busiest portTop port
Newark, NJ

The US buys the most books from China: 38% of $2 billion.

United Kingdom is second at 15%. Printed books, excluding dictionaries and children's picture books.

Where US books come from, 2025Where it comes from

Share by value of the $2B the US imported, by country of originShare by value, by country of origin

  1. 01China$0.76B37.6%
  2. 02United Kingdom$0.31B15.2%
  3. 03Canada$0.24B11.6%
  4. 04Italy$0.13B6.2%
  5. 05Mexico$0.10B5.0%
  6. 06India$74.0M3.6%
  7. 07South Korea$59.6M2.9%
  8. 08Malaysia$47.9M2.4%
  9. 09Germany$35.0M1.7%
  10. 10Japan$26.9M1.3%
  11. All othersEveryone else combined: $0.25B12.3%

Total US books imports by year · $1.8B in 2010 to $2B in 2025Replay the ranking year by year, 2010 to 2025

2025Press play to replay the ranking

Then and now: 2015 vs 2025Then and now

Each country's share of US books imports. Gray bar is 2015, colored bar is 2025.Share of US books imports. Gray is 2015, color is 2025.

Italy2.7% → 6.2%
Mexico2.4% → 5%
United Kingdom13% → 15%
India2% → 3.6%
Canada10% → 12%
Malaysia1.4% → 2.4%
South Korea2.3% → 2.9%
Japan1.7% → 1.3%
Germany3% → 1.7%
China47% → 38%
2015 share2025, gained2025, lost

Where it's made

Bigger circle = more value, 2025. Numbers match the list.

Most imported books are made in Asia. China and India send 41% between them, and South Korea, Malaysia and Japan add another 7%. The United Kingdom, Italy and Germany send 23% from Europe.

0102030405060708
0102030405060708
  1. 01China
  2. 02United Kingdom
  3. 03Canada
  4. 04Italy
  5. 05Mexico
  6. 06India
  7. 07South Korea
  8. 08Malaysia

Where it lands

US port where it entered, 2025. Letters match the list.

65% arrives by ship, almost all in containers, mostly through East and West Coast ports. Newark alone takes 21%. Los Angeles and Long Beach follow at 14% and 9%.

ABCDEF
ABCDEF
  1. ANewark, NJ $0.43B
  2. BLos Angeles, CA $0.29B
  3. CLong Beach, CA $0.18B
  4. DBaltimore, MD $0.14B
  5. EJFK Airport, NY $0.10B
  6. FLaredo, TX $89.2M
More detail: states listed on entry paperworkMore detail: states on paperwork

This is the destination written on customs forms, often a warehouse or distributor near the port. It is not where the books is used.

Seven states are listed for over $100M each.

  1. 01New York$0.34B
  2. 02Illinois$0.22B
  3. 03Indiana$0.19B
  4. 04California$0.18B
  5. 05New Jersey$0.15B
$100M+$40–100M$10–40M$1–10MUnder $1M

Counted under HS 490199. How we count.