USA raw materials report (January-November 2016): raw leather export goes down (-7,3%), wet blue slump (-21,7%)

Figures about raw leather are discrepant. As for sales volume, in the first 11 months of 2016 USA export went up (+11,4%).Conversely, overseas profits decreased considerably (-7,3%). According to USHSLA (the North American leather tanning association) report over last year Jan-Nov period, American companies exported 19,6 million pieces of refrigerated and salted leather and made a profit of 1,3 billion dollars ( approximately 1,21 billion euros; in 2015, same period, earnings amounted to 1,4 billion). On the other hand, the wet-blue leather trend is absolutely negative: export sales volume decreased (-14,6%, that is, slightly less than 6 million pieces of leather), and profits collapsed (-21,7%, approximately 550 million dollars, that is, 514 million euros).