Due to the world wide recession bicycle manufacturers and suppliers imported the fewest bikes in this first quarter since 1998. On a good note, the dollar value of all the units that were imported is the second highest since 1998 as well. Analyst say reports from the Commerce Department’s first quarter have shown that the number of bike units being imported is down by 31 percent from the same time period in 2008. The total units imported in the first quarter was 2,598,793 units, last year it was 3,755,228. That amounts to a $13.4 million drop in value. The value of each unit delivered in March has increased by 37 percent however. Mass merchants seem to be the ones taking the biggest cuts in inventory with 27-inch as well as 700c wheel bikes being cut the most. It is just a sign of the times.