Data Point: $10 Billion

Amount of profit that information technology manufacturers lose to the gray market annually. While not illegal, gray market goods are traded through distribution channels that are unofficial and unintended by manufacturers. The projected gray market for IT products increased to $58 billion in 2008 from KPMG’s 2002 projection of $40 billion, placing the size of the gray market around 8% of total global IT sales.

Source: KPMG/Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement survey, www.us.kpmg.com.