Imports of camping apparel and gear reached $743 million in September, up $50 million, or 7.2 percent from September, 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly report on international trade in goods and services.


Such imports reached $6.74 billion for the first nine months of the year, up $282 million, 4.4 percent from the same period in 2011.


Imports of toys, games and sporting goods reached $2.74 billion in September, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier and were essentially flat for the first three quarters of the year at $25 billion.


The report showed footwear imports reached $1.62 billion in September, up 4.1 percent. For the nine months ending Sept. 30, footwear imports reached $14.3 billion, up 3.1 percent from the same period in 2011.