There is a lot of information available to understand the market and the economy, but it is hard to find the information that is actually needed.

In the study of international trading products and trade transactions, there is a special type of information known as "trade data ". There are several different datasets that are considered trade data, each of which has several uses. Companies are increasingly injecting several different types of trade data into the decision-making process of their global organizations.

Understanding the market and competitive landscape is essential to drive revenue, reduce costs, develop strategic and tactical plans, and achieve operational efficiencies.

What is trade data?

Trade data provided the flow of physical goods (raw materials and manufactures) from one country to another, including exports and imports. This information can occur in the form of advanced statistics (summarizing the total volume of trade between countries or specific commodity codes) or very detailed shipping reports (summary of actual companies and products at the bill of lading/inventory level).

In general, all of this information is collected by government sources, but it is usually disseminated by private companies working with government agencies.

What are the different types of U.S. trade data?

High Level statistics

The most cited form of trade data is the information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Such information includes the total amount of United States imports and exports using a unified system, usually described as the U.S. Census data. Census data are provided at a high level, and the dollar value is usually a unit of measure.

These data are comprehensive and cover all imports and exports. The lowest level of information provided by U.S. Census data is the uniform product level. For example, a user can see the total value of a bowling ball imported and exported for 2008 years. They can also study which countries export the most bowling balls to the United States and who receive the most imports.

Typically, this data is cited when discussing trade deficits. This information is provided by a number of companies through different interfaces, ranging from 6000 dollars to less than 300 dollars a year. Different services provide reporting and charting capabilities that enable users to create professional output for presentations.

The quality of the database changes greatly, the less expensive systems are more difficult to use, and the more time it takes to extract the data than the more advanced applications.

Detailed Shipping Information

For companies seeking detailed information, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department collects information from the automated inventory system (AMS) for each shipment of goods entering the United States from the bill of lading level.

AMS or U.S. Customs data, as it is well known, is the most detailed source of information that international trade professionals can access. Although the details of the information are large, how the company records products and product names is not significantly standardized. In addition, only waterway imports are provided by the United States Customs electronics, including more than 70% of the precession. Truck, rail and aerial activities were not provided in the detailed level of the inventory. U.S. Customs export data are not as readily available as import data at the shipping level, but are expected to be more widely available in the coming years.

It is important to note that HTS numbers and prices are not listed in U.S. Customs-supplied data. These data are at the bill of lading level, which will show who imported the products and what they received from the company. For example, the data will show the imported bowling company and who made it in China.

The product  of the data will also be more detailed than the census data and may provide a model of the imported ball. The department publishes AMS data through the Freedom of Information Act, a group of database providers that sell the information. This data can be priced from hundreds of billions to 10,000 of dollars for annual visits with multiple users.

More expensive applications produce more accurate results, while cheaper systems are more like search engines than trade data tools.

International data

Other countries provide trade data for the country's incoming dispatch. The United Nations is an important source of this information, as they provide international trade data from 249 different journalists. The accuracy of international trade data is very different, usually provided at the HS level, such as the United States Census data. Some countries provide transaction-level data, but the integrity and quality are inconsistent with United States Customs data. The data types provided by the state vary widely.

When investigating trade data, it is important to understand how the information is used so that you can choose the right type of information to buy. In general, the use of multiple types of data provides a good insight into the market. Remember that all types of information are just data until your insights and industry knowledge are applied.

I talked about what types of trade data, and what types of information can be found using different data sets. The U.S. government has two main trade data:

US Census data-provides high TC superconducting (uniform tariff system) level information for total import and export of products.

U.S. Customs Data-provides the U.S. Customs automated inventory system with detailed information about each container imported to the United States at the shipping level. Both of these data contain useful information that can help importers and exporters learn more about their markets. How to use information is a more complex issue because many companies use data in different ways.

If you are considering adding trade data to your company's decision-making process, it is important to understand the general purpose of the information and how to use it to answer specific questions. What questions can be exchanged for data answers? No matter the role of the Organization in the field of international trade (manufacturers, distributors, retailers, law firms, transport service providers, etc.), there are many different types of problems, trade data can help answer.

What is the total amount of dollars and pounds of products or products imported and exported?

Where is the balance of trade between the United States and other countries?

WHO provides products and raw materials for competitors?

What does a company in China produce and who does it deliver to?

is the product counterfeit and how did the counterfeiters get the goods into the United States?

Which country produces the most products, who is the largest importer in the United States?

Who is the top importer in a particular geographic area?

What is the most important exporter in the United States for a particular product? The answers to these types of questions may be in the overall form (U.S. Census data) or incredibly detailed (US Customs data).

Trade data ensure that organizations have a need to understand their changing markets. The general use of trade Data trade data provides much of the basic information needed by the global organization to effectively and efficiently complete its market intelligence work.

There are many ways in which companies take the data provided by the U.S. Census and U.S. Customs data providers and turn it into operational, value-based initiatives. Market analysis-cost effective development of market assessment and explore new market opportunities by reviewing detailed and aggregated information. There is great insight into the impact of future scenarios, leading to more accurate forecasting and strategic planning.

Market share analysis can be done by examining the total import volume of a particular company, using U.S. Customs data and comparing it to the total number of products in the United States Census data. Competitive intelligence-organizations use U.S. Customs data to expand and protect their revenue base, and to anticipate and respond to competitive strategies and strategies. They can gain insight into competitors ' supply strategies, seize new initiatives, and uncover potential opportunities and threats.

If a company is known to be the sole importer/exporter of a product in a particular country to determine its import/export cost/price, the United States Census data can be applied. Lead prospecting-companies that sell their products and services to the international trade community can reduce sales costs and drive revenue growth by developing new leads and understanding existing prospects through unique, targeted U.S. customs data.

Set up. Supplier sourcing-manufacturers can reduce supply chain development costs by using U.S. Customs and U.S. Census data to identify countries that export their products and limit their sources.

They use their contracts to negotiate status and verify their position with the supplier with U.S. Customs data. Legal and Brand protection-brand holders can save millions of lost revenue due to brand infringement, gray market transactions, and counterfeit imports by proactively protecting their supply chains and routinely monitoring their products ' imports.

Essentially, they can use U.S. Customs data to use their own import data on the counterfeiters. Without accurate and timely trade data, companies may face an unfair competition and may make bad decisions. After the implementation and implementation of strategic and tactical decisions, the information cycle and the demand for trade information continue. The company should compare the results with the original target, the industry average, or a specific competitor. You can then use this information to modify an existing target or to create a new destination.