"I don't suppose you have a breakdown on what those imports consisted of, do you?"
Yes, I do.
"Or a reason why 75% of the southern imports didn't go directly to the consumers?"
There are many factors that contributed to it but the main reason is simple: importers were taking advantage of the 1846 Warehousing Act.
Yes, I do. Well?
...importers were taking advantage of the 1846 Warehousing Act.
Ah yes, the ever popular Warehousing Act of 1846. For those unitiated in the sothron interpretation why not outline for us why one simple piece of legislation would trump common economic logic: ie, ship the goods directly to those consuming them?