There is a great amount of information that exists for understanding markets and the economy, however it can be difficult to find the information that is actually needed. When researching internationally traded products and trade transactions, there is a special type of information known as 'Trade Data'.

There are several different data sets that are considered trade data and each have several uses. Increasingly, companies are infusing several different types of trade data into their global organizations' decision making processes. Understanding market and competitive landscapes is critical to driving revenue, reducing costs, crafting strategic and tactical plans, and obtaining operational efficiencies.

What is Trade Data?

Trade data provides information on the movement of physical goods (raw materials and finished products) from one country to another, including exports and imports. This information can come in the form of high-level statistical data (outlining total trade volumes between countries or for a given commodity code) or very detailed shipment reports (outlining actual companies and products at a Bill of Lading/manifest level). Generally, all of this information is collected by government sources; however it is typically disseminated by private companies that work with government agencies.

What are some of the different types of United States Trade Data?

High Level Statistics

The most referenced form of trade data is the information that is gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. This type of information consists of the total imports and exports for the United States using the Harmonized System and is commonly described as U.S. Census data. Census data is provided at a high level, with dollar value typically being the unit of measure. This data is comprehensive, covering all imports and exports.

The lowest level of information available with U.S. Census data is at a harmonized product level. For example, a user could see the total value of bowling balls imported and exported in 2008. They could also examine what countries export the most bowling balls to the United States and who receives the most imports. Often, this data is referenced when discussing the trade deficit.

This information is provided by multiple companies through different interfaces with annual access ranging from over $6,000 to less than $300. Different services provide reporting and charting functionality that allows users to create professional outputs for presentations. The quality of the databases varies greatly, the less expensive systems are more difficult to use and take more time to pull the data than the more advanced applications.

Detailed Shipment Information

For companies looking for detailed information, U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects information on every shipment entering the United States at a Bill of Lading level from the Automated Manifest System (AMS.) AMS or US Customs data, as it is commonly known, is the most detailed source of information that international trade professionals can access.

While the detail on this information is great, there is no significant standardization of how companies document product and commodity names. In addition, only waterborne imports are electronically provided by U.S. Customs, which encompasses over 70% of import activity. Truck, rail, and air activity are not provided at a manifest level of detail. U.S. Customs export data is not as readily available as import data at a shipment level, however it is expected to be more widely available in the coming years. It is important to note that HTS numbers and price are not listed on the data provided by U.S. Customs.

This data is at the Bill of Lading level, which will show who imported a product and what company they received it from. For example, the data would show the company that imported a Bowling Ball and who manufactured it in China. The product descriptions for this data will also be more detailed than Census data, possibly providing models of the balls that were imported.

Customs releases AMS data through the Freedom of Information Act and a select group of database providers sell the information. Pricing for this data can range from a few hundred dollars for a single report to over $10,000 for annual access with multiple users. More expensive applications yield more accurate results while cheaper systems are more of a search engine than a trade data tool.

International Data

Other countries provide trade data for their country's import and export activity. The United Nations is a great source for this information, as they provide international trade data from 249 different reporters. International trade data can vary greatly in its accuracy and usually is provided at the HS level, like U.S. Census data. Some countries provide transaction level data, but the completeness and quality does not match U.S. Customs data. Which type of data a country provides varies greatly.

Whenever investigating Trade Data, it is important to understand how the information will be used in order to select the right type of information to purchase. There are often times when using more than one type of data can provide great insights into a market. Remember that all types of information are just data until your insights and industry knowledge is applied.