Project No. 0-6697 (TRB Link)

Integration of Data Sources to Optimize Freight Transportation in Texas
(LINK TO SURVEY)

Freight transportation is critical to the economic prosperity of any region. The challenge lies in disaggregating freight transportation demand to flows that can be assigned onto a state and region’s transportation network.  Disaggregated freight flows are necessary to:

• provide a clear picture of freight movements on the transportation system;
• determine the impact of freight on a region’s infrastructure and the implications in terms of funding;
• evaluate strategies for improving freight mobility;
• forecast system performance;
• mitigate impacts of truck traffic on general mobility, and
• improve the safety performance of the transportation system.

The passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 initiated an increasing interest in freight modeling within statewide planning efforts, particularly the evaluation of current and future freight transportation capacity necessary to ensure freight mobility.  Although freight models have started to emerge as tools to inform transportation policies, a critical challenge in the development of these models remains insufficient and inferior quality data.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has contracted with the Center for Transportation Research at The University of Texas at Austin (CTR) to:

• develop a strategy for collecting and integrating available freight data;
• explore the feasibility of entering into a data sharing partnership with the freight community for the collection of detailed and robust freight data that will satisfy the needs of transportation planning agencies;
• develop and pilot a prototype Freight Data Architecture and Handbook, and
• advise TxDOT on the cost-effectiveness of acquiring and maintaining a freight data sharing partnership to populate the Freight Data Architecture.

The outcome of this research will be a report that provides a strategy for integrating different freight data sources and for collecting and compiling primary freight data from Texas’s freight stakeholders through a data sharing partnership. A prototype Freight Data Architecture with accompanying Handbook will also be provided. The Handbook will provide guidance for populating and maintaining the Freight Data Architecture.

Contact: Dr. C. Michael Walton cmwalton@mail.utexas.edu or Dan Seedah dseedah@mail.utexas.edu

• IHS Global Insight

AVAILABILITY

• Quarterly reports and data extracts available for purchase.

DATABASE DESCRIPTION

The World Sea Trade Service database is an advanced econometric model developed by DRI/McGraw-Hill Inc. for forecasting ocean traffic on major international trade routes. DRI combines world trade statistics with sophisticated economic and trade models to generate historical and forecast shipment statistics across 1,000 ocean trade corridors around the world. Forecasts of commodity flows are reported in terms of short-term quarterly estimates for bi-annual periods and long-term estimates.

DATA COLLECTION

Performing Organization

• DRI/McGraw-Hill

Methodology

• Sources
• Country-based waterborne foreign-trade data sources

• Sample Selection and Size
• The World Sea Trade Service database is developed from waterborne shipment data reported in country-based foreign trade data sources. Because the data collection process does not involve any additional surveys of carriers, there is no sampling procedure involved in the database development.
• All waterborne shipments included in the country-based foreign trade data sources are included in the database.
• A total of more than 1000 trade corridors are covered in the reporting of worldwide sea trade statistics.
• Information on the sample sizes of waterborne shipments reported in the foreign trade data sources providing data for the development of the world sea trade service database is not available.

• Procedure
• Trade flow data gathered from individual country-based foreign waterborne trade statistics are combined with advanced econometric models to generate forecasts of ocean traffic flows across major international trade routes.
• Historical and forecast ocean traffic statistics are developed for approximately 1,000 international trade routes based on:
• Cargo type
• Type of service
• Size

• Freight Demand Characteristics
• Commodity
• 20 SITC commodity group classification
• Origin-Destination
• Foreign country of origin and destination
• Routing
• Trade route details based on:
• Coastal
• Country or
• Regional pairs
• Port detail reported for certain trade routes
• Shipment
• Total weight
• Number of container-loads

• Transport
• Waterborne shipments

Quality Control Procedures

• Sophisticated econometric models ensure reliable forecasts of shipment flows across major trade routes.

Costs Incurred in Database Development

• Not available

Geographical Coverage

• Worldwide sea-trade statistics across major international trade routes

Limitations of Data Source

• The foreign countries of origin and destination reported in the database are based on the ports of lading and discharge of shipments. Accordingly, intransit shipments are not identified in the database. For these shipments, the country of origin (or destination) reported in the database are not the actual countries of origin (or destination).
• The database lacks trade flow statistics between developing countries and also between Eastern Europe and developing countries. For many of these trade flows, the flows in the Origin/Destination matrices are reported as not available.

Contact Address

• Airports Council International (ACI)
• ACI (North America) for worldwide (North American) Airport Traffic Data

AVAILABILITY

• Commercial data source available for purchase
• Printed format (as pdf file format)
• Excel + printed format (as pdf file)
• Worldwide Airport Traffic Report data can be purchased from the ACI website: http://www.aci.aero/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-6-43-3647^2003_666_2__
• North American Airport Traffic Report can be purchased from the ACI-North America website: http://aci-na.org/stats/stats_traffic _

DATABASE DESCRIPTION

The Worldwide Airport Traffic Report is a commercial data source developed annually by the Airports Council International (ACI) based in Geneva, Switzerland. The database provides comprehensive information on annual passenger (person enplanements and deplanements) and freight traffic (tons of loaded/unloaded freight and mail) volumes for all the major airports in the world surveyed by the ACI.

In addition, the database also reports useful operational statistics in terms of total annual aircraft movements (landing and take-off) at each major airport surveyed.

DATA COLLECTION

Performing Organization

• Airports Council International (ACI)

Methodology

• Sources
• Airports responding to the annual survey conducted by the ACI

• Sample Selection and Size
• The Worldwide Airport Traffic Report includes traffic statistics for major international airports throughout the world.
• Major airports across the world are categorized into the following geographical regions for the survey:
• North America
• Europe
• Africa, Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, and the Pacific
• The data source provides monthly and annual passenger, freight, and operational statistics for at least 1,357 airports (regular reporting airports) worldwide. Information on the number of airports surveyed in each geographical region can, however, be obtained from the commercial database available online for purchase.

• Procedure
• The passenger, freight, and operational statistics are collected through mail-out/mail-back surveys.
• Separate forms are mailed out to airports in North America, Europe, and Africa, Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, and the Pacific to capture particular regional data at airports located in different geographical areas.

• Freight Demand Characteristics
• Commodity
• Freight (including express freight)
• Mail
• Origin-Destination
• Domestic/International flights
• Routing
• Airport
• Shipment
• Total weight by direction:
• Enplanement
• Deplanement
• Transportation
• Air mode
• Other
• Aircraft movements (domestic and international)
• General aviation aircrafts
• Type of commercial operation
• Passenger and Combi aircraft (passenger and cargo)
• All-cargo aircraft

Quality Control Procedures

• By designing specific survey forms for different geographical areas, the needs of airports located in these regions are met and non-sampling errors in data collection are minimized.
• The definitions for all the forms, however, are standardized. This ensures that the responses from various regions can be integrated with ease and efficiency during the data processing phase.

Costs Incurred in Database Development

• Not available

Geographical Coverage

• Worldwide

Frequency of Data Collection and Update

• Monthly
• Annually

Limitations of Data Source

• Inconsistencies exist in the database in the reporting of transshipment statistics.

Contact Addresses

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

AVAILABILITY

• Annual data available approximately 18 months after the end of the year
• Printed report and data tape of individual port tonnage by:
• Commodity
• Shipment type
• Foreign / domestic
• Coastwise
• Internal
• Local
• Direction
• Inbound / outbound
• Upbound / downbound
• Printed report and data tape for individual ports summarizing information on:
• Vessel trips by draft
• Vessel type
• Direction of movement
• Public domain database in diskette and printed format reporting commodity tons by commodity groups for state-to-state origin-destination flows:
• $5 per data file
• $15 per printed data source
• State and principal ports tonnage summary
• Transportation lines of theUnited States
• Location
• Vessel characteristics
• Area of operation
• Waterborne commerce and vessel statistics data also reported in the U.S. Waterway Data CD-ROM provided by:
• BTS and theU.S.Army Corps of Engineers.

• Information on Waterborne Commerce and Vessel Statistics data reported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is available at the following web address:

• http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/wcsc.htm

DATABASE DESCRIPTION

The Waterborne Commerce and Vessel Statistics database, developed annually by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Navigation Data Center (NDC), provides comprehensive shipment statistics data for domestic and foreign waterborne trade flows acrossU.S.ports and waterways. The database is the only comprehensive source of data for both domestic and foreign waterborne trade shipments in and out of theUnited States.

Domestic shipment data are collected specifically for the database by the Corps of Engineers from Vessel Operating Reports obtained from domestic carriers. Foreign trade statistics are directly obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’sU.S. waterborne import and export trade statistics. Further enhancements are, however, made to the database in terms of vessel movements.

DATA COLLECTION

Performing Organization

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Methodology

• Sources

• Domestic freight carriers who report their vessel operations and cargo activity directly to the Corps of Engineers in the form of Vessel Operations Reports
• U.S.Bureau of the Census: U.S. Waterborne Exports and General Imports

• Sample Selection and Size
• Domestic waterborne shipment statistics are collected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the Vessel Operations Reports submitted by all domestic carriers at U.S. port locations. Accordingly, there is no sampling involved in the data collection for domestic waterborne trade flow statistics.
• A total of more than 1,500 domestic vessel operating companies provide their shipment statistics in the vessel operations reports submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Foreign waterborne trade flow statistics are developed from the U.S. Bureau of the Census data source onU.S.waterborne general imports and exports of merchandise.
• Waterborne import and export shipments of value less than $1,251 and $2,501 respectively are not included in the survey by the U.S. Customs Service.
• Information on the number of records of waterborne import and export shipments reporting their statistics to the U.S. Customs is not available.

• Procedure
• Domestic waterborne shipment statistics are collected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using the Corps of Engineers Form 3925 (Vessel Operation Report: Statement of Freight and Passengers Carried).
• The Corps of Engineers ENG Form 3925 can be accessed at: http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/pdf/eng3925/ENG3925.pdf

• Owing to the large volume of U.S. foreign trade flows, the Corps of Engineers does not conduct surveys of importing and exporting carriers.
• Foreign trade flow data are compiled annually by the U.S. Bureau of the Census from the U.S. Customs Entry Summary and Shipper’s Export Declarations in the U.S. Waterborne Exports and General Imports database. The Corps of Engineers uses the latter data, but enhances the vessel movements information in developing the waterborne commerce statistics database.

• Freight Demand Characteristics
• Commodity
• 4-digit Commodity Classification (domestic waterborne trade flows)

• Origin-Destination
• Master tape:
• Dock-to-dock flows
• Port summary report:
• Port throughput
• Harbor throughput or
• Channel segment throughput
• Public domain database:
• States of origin and destination of domestic shipments
• No foreign country detail reported in the database

• Routing
• Only available for a few specific route elements
• Routing information inferred from the database from the Origin/Destination shipment flows
• Shipment
• Weight (tons)
• Transport
• Waterborne
• Other
• Number of vessels information based on:
• Direction of flow
• Type of vessel
• Draft

Quality Control Procedures

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has increased its efficiency in processing the domestic shipment filings (Vessel Operation Reports) to avoid delays in reporting waterborne commerce statistics to the U.S. Congress and other key federal agencies.
• Vessel Operation Reports from all the domestic carriers ensures that the domestic waterborne shipment statistics reported in the database are accurate estimates without any sampling errors (bias) in the annual estimates.

Costs Incurred in Database Development

• Not available

Geographical Coverage

• U.S. imports/exports between all U.S. Customs territories and foreign countries, including intransit shipments

Frequency of Data Collection / Update

• Annual

Limitations of Data Source

• The database does not report foreign country detail for international trade shipments. Consequently, foreign-trade flow statistics between the U.S. and a foreign country of interest cannot be obtained from the database.
• The database does not provide routing information for domestic state-to-state shipments. Dock-to-dock flow data are available only in the Master Tape, which is proprietary, and not available to the public.

Contact Address

• Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce

AVAILABILITY

• Public
• PDF document files released on the Internet
•  http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/vius/2002.html
• Hard copy files available for U.S.
• Microdata CD-ROM

DATABASE DESCRIPTION

The Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, VIUS (formerly Truck Inventory and Use Survey) is conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census as part of its quinquennial Economic Census. The survey captures the physical and operating characteristics of private and commercial U.S. truck population licensed (registered) as of July 1 of each survey year. The survey does not consider buses, ambulances, automobiles, motorcycles and vehicles owned by the federal, state, or local governments.

The truck inventory data from the VIUS are used by a number of agencies and state departments for developing transportation plans for the future, analyzing highway safety issues, environmental impacts of emissions, studies on vehicle performance, fuel demands, and fuel conservation practices of trucking industries.

DATA COLLECTION

Performing Organization

• The U.S. Bureau of the Census

Methodology

• Sources
• Mail-out/mail-back Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey questionnaire forms (TC 9501/9502) sent to a random sample of truck owners.

• Sample Selection and Size
• A random sample of private and commercial trucks is selected from the population of registered trucks for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• The sample selection procedure for the VIUS consists of selecting an initial and a supplementary sample of trucks registered in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• The sampling of registered trucks is carried out by segmenting the vehicle population based on the state of registration, body type, and the gross vehicle weight (GVW).
• From the above population of segmented vehicles, a random sample of vehicles is selected for the mail-out/mail-back questionnaire survey.
• For the 1997 VIUS, the sample was comprised of a total of 131,000 trucks selected from a population of nearly 75 million trucks in the U.S.

• Procedure
• The initial phase of the data collection methodology for the VIUS consists of selecting initial and supplementary samples of trucks from the population.
• The sample selection is done in two phases so that trucks that have their mailing address different from the state of registration can be included in the VIUS.
• The physical and operating characteristics of trucks selected are gathered by mailing the VIUS questionnaire forms to the respective registered owners.

• Freight Demand Characteristics
• Commodity (operational characteristics)
• Annual mileage reported as percentage values for the following classifications:
• Twenty-six standard commodity categories, including non-freight shipments (personal and empty-haul)
• Seventeen categories of hazardous materials
• Origin-Destination
• Not reported
• Routing
• Not reported
• Shipment
• Not reported
• Transport (operational characteristic)
• Percentage of annual miles:
• Outside base state
• Range of operation
• Local (50 miles or less)
• Short-range (51 to 100 miles)
• Short-range medium (101 to 200 miles)
• Long-range medium (201 to 500 miles)
• Long-range (>500 miles)
• Other
• Physical characteristics:
• Date of purchase
• Gross vehicle weight (GVW)
• Body type
• Single unit
• Tractor-trailer
• Length
• Number of axles
• Engine type
• Operational characteristics:
• Major use (type of business)
• Weeks operated
• Miles driven
• Annual
• Lifetime
• Operator classification
• Accident incidence

Quality Control Procedures

• Starting from the year 1997, the VIUS has started employing the two-phase sampling procedure consisting of initial and supplementary samples of theU.S. truck population. The two-phase sampling procedure allows for the inclusion of the physical and operational data of truck operators that have their mailing address different from the state of registration.

• Precautionary steps were taken at the data collection, processing, and tabulation stages of the database so that non-sampling errors in statistical data are minimized.
• Adjusting for unit nonresponses (unreturned questionnaires)
• Reweighting procedure: The physical and operating characteristics of trucks corresponding to unit nonresponses were determined by computing a nonresponse adjustment factor for each truck category:
• Non-response adjustment factor, η = S / R
• S = Sample size within each truck category
• R = Number of successful responses

• Adjusting for item non-responses (partial non-responses or failures in computer edits)
• Imputing procedure: The missing value of a particular truck characteristic is replaced by the average value of the data from successful responses from all the other trucks belonging to the same category.
• The name of the database was changed from Truck Inventory and Use Survey to Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey to account for future expansions in the type of vehicles to be included in the database, including automobiles and buses.
• Compared to statistics reported in the previous VIUS/TIUS databases, the present VIUS provides additional data on the transport of hazardous materials.

Costs of Data Collection

• Not available

Geographical Coverage

• U.S.nationwide truck inventory data
• 50 states
• District of Columbia

Frequency of Data Collection and Update

• Every 5 years (for years ending in “2” and “7” as part of the Economic Census)

Limitations of Data Source

• Since the VIUS database is developed by conducting surveys of a sample of trucks, the characterization of the truck fleet for the entire U.S. truck population is always subject to sampling errors.
• In the reweighting procedure employed for unit nonresponses, there can be significant statistical bias in the estimate of the truck characteristics if the characteristics of nonresponse trucks are different from the characteristics of the trucks for which responses were received.
• The imputation procedure for item nonresponses is carried out separately only for length, average weight, and the annual miles of trucks. All other truck characteristics are provided in the not-reported category.
• The VIUS database is only developed on a 5 year basis and consequently, the database cannot give information on frequent changes (for e.g., yearly changes in truck population) occurring in the U.S. national truck fleet.

Contact Address

• Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce

AVAILABILITY

• Available for purchase (subscription or ad hoc) around 4 months after close of period
• Database information also included in U.S. Waterway Data CD-ROM available from Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

DATABASE DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Waterborne General Imports (Exports) and Inbound (Outbound) Intransit Shipments database is developed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census to report detailed shipment statistics concerning U.S. waterborne imports and exports with foreign trade partners.

The database is available monthly (TM) or on an annual (TA) basis on magnetic tapes,  providing comprehensive port-to-port trade flow statistics of U.S. foreign trade and intransit shipments categorized by commodity, vessel type, and country detail.

DATA COLLECTION

Performing Organization

• U.S. Bureau of the Census
• U.S. Customs Service

Methodology

• Sources
• U.S. Customs Entry Summary (Form 7501) for import shipments
• Shipper’s Export Declarations (SEDs) for export shipments

• Sample Selection and Size
• The database captures waterborne shipment statistics (government or otherwise) between U.S. Customs’ territories and foreign countries, except for low-value shipments.
• Shipments with a value less than $2,501 for exports and less than $1,251 for imports are not reported in the database.
• The low-value shipment statistics are estimated without commodity detail from historical statistics.
• Information on the number of records of import and export shipments of value greater than or equal to $1,251 and $2,501 respectively, is not available.

• Procedure
• Waterborne import shipment statistics are collected by the U.S. Customs Service at ports of entry using the U.S. Customs Entry Summary Form 7501.
• The U.S. Customs Entry Summary Form 7501 collects detailed information from all import shipments with a value greater than $1,251. A trained specialist (licensed customs broker) has to complete and return Form 7501 to U.S. Customs within 10 working days of the filing of the 3461 Entry/Immediate delivery form.
• A sample U.S. Customs Entry Summary Form can be found at: http://www.ar.danzas.com/downloads/guide/7501_Inst.pdf
• Detailed waterborne export shipment statistics are collected from the Shipper’s Export Declarations filed by shippers or freight forwarders electronically or in hard-copy forms.
• The Shipper’s Export Declarations hard copy Form 7525-V is the paper version used by U.S. Customs for collecting export shipment statistics.
• The electronic version of the Shipper’s Export Declarations, the Automated Export System (AES), is offered by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Customs Service.

• Freight Demand Characteristics
• Commodity
• SITC and 6-digit Harmonized (HS) commodity codes

• Origin-Destination
• Foreign country of origin/destination
• Domestic origin/destinations not reported
• Routing
• U.S. Customs Ports (USBOC Schedule D classification) to Foreign Ports (USBOC Schedule K Classification)
• Shipment
• Weight
• Value
• Transport
• Water mode
• Type of vessel (liner, non-liner or tanker)
• Other
• Import freight charges
• Percentage containerization

Quality Control Procedures

• The U.S. Customs Service, with assistance from the U.S. Census Bureau, ensures that the U.S. Customs Entry Summary and the Shipper’s Export Declarations are filed only by trained personnel to minimize non-sampling errors in collecting shipment statistics.
• Exporters and their agents are required to maintain copies of their shipping documents for at least a period of 5 years to ensure readily available and detailed information for reporting purposes.
• The electronic Automated Export System (AES) ensures faster completion of the filing process of the Shipper’s Export Declarations. The AES also helps reduce non-sampling errors in data collection compared to hard-copy forms, which can be lost during shipment from the shipper’s location to the port of export.

Costs Incurred in Data Collection

• Not available

Geographical Coverage

• U.S. imports/exports between all U.S. Customs territories and foreign countries, including intransit shipments

Frequency of Data Collection and Update

• Monthly
• Annual

Limitations of Data Source

• The data source does not report U.S. state or city of origin/destination for export/import shipments.
• The database does not provide shipment statistics for low-value import or export shipments. The latter is estimated from historical data without commodity detail. The presence of a significantly large percentage of air traffic in the low-value shipments leads to inaccurate estimates of low-value waterborne import and export shipments.

       Contact Address

• U.S. Bureau of the Census — Data User Services division

AVAILABILITY

• The U.S. Imports/Exports of Merchandise CD-ROMs are available for purchase on subscription or on an ad-hoc basis (4 months after end of period).

DATA SOURCE DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Imports/Exports of Merchandise database is the most comprehensive source of foreign trade statistics. It is developed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census with the freight trade data inputs from the U.S. Customs Service. The database documents in detail the movement of different commodities across U.S. borders (by weight and value) and by mode of transportation.

The data source is available from the U.S. Bureau of the Census on two CD-ROMs:

• U.S. Imports of Merchandise
• U.S. Exports of Merchandise

DATA COLLECTION

Performing Organization

• U.S. Customs Service
• Automated data collection systems (AES, ABI)
• Entry summary and Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) forms (paper documents)

Methodology

• Sources
• Import and export shipment data collected by U.S. Customs at ports of entry and export from Customs Brokers and Shippers.

• Sample Selection and Size
• Shipment sampling
• Imported shipments with commodity values less than $1,251 are not reported in the U.S. Customs entry summary form 7501.
• Exported shipments with commodity values less than $2,501 are not reported in the SED form 7525-v except for mail shipments.
• Mail shipments with value less than $500 are not sampled.
• For a mixture of exported shipments with commodity values less than or equal to $2,501 and commodity values greater than $2,501, those commodities having value less than $2,501 are not selected.
• Shipments traveling from a U.S. origin to another U.S. destination through a foreign country are not considered for the SED.
• Merchandise not moving as cargo under a bill of lading or air waybill, and not requiring a validated export license are not sampled.
• Shipments to the U.S. Armed Forces and U.S. trade shipments with U.S. possessions are not reported.
• Information on the number of records of import and export shipments of value greater than $1,251 and $2,501 respectively that report their statistics to the U.S. Customs Service is not available.

• Procedure
• U.S. Imports of Merchandise
• Automated data collection procedure using the U.S. Customs Service Automated Broker Interface (ABI)
• U.S. Customs Service paper forms: Entry Summary Form 7501, Warehouse withdrawal forms, and Foreign Trade Zone forms
• Forms to be filled only by a licensed Customs Broker
• Forms to be submitted to the U.S. Customs Service within 10 working days of submission of the entry/immediate delivery form
• U.S. Exports of Merchandise
• Export shipment statistics collected by the U.S. Customs Service using the Automated Export System (AES)
• U.S. Customs Service export data collection form: Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) Form 7525
• SEDs for postal shipments
• SEDs for all other shipments

• Freight Demand Characteristics
• Commodity
• 10-digit Harmonized System (HS) code classification:
• Schedule B for exports (by the U.S. Census)
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule Codes for Imports (by the U.S.International Trade Commission)
• Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
• Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) end-use commodity category
• USDA product codes
• Advanced Technology Codes (ATCs)
• Origin-Destination flows
• Export country of destination
• Import country of origin
• Routing
• U.S. Customs Districts of exit for exports
• U.S. Customs Districts of unlading and entry for imports
• Shipment
• Value and quantity
• All modes
• Vessel and air separately
• Shipping weight
• Vessel and air
• Transport
• Vessel
• Air
• All modes (e.g., vessel, air, truck, rail, air mail, and parcel post)
• Other
• Cost, Insurance and Freight (C.I.F) value of imports (vessel, air)
• Import charges of merchandise (vessel, air)
• Total number of filed shipment documents
• U.S. import duty on shipments

Quality Control Procedures

• Automated reporting of exports (AES) and imports (ABI)
• Increased security efforts and infrastructure to better control data collection procedures at border areas
• Increased awareness of zone operators and customs officials of the importance of statistical reporting for zonal imports and exports
• On-line validation checks of automated systems like AES and ABI
• Exporter education program (EEP)
• Customs port briefings
• AES user meetings

Costs Incurred in Data Collection

• National Council on International Trade Documentation (NCITD):
• Cost incurred by U.S. Census Bureau in preparing and processing the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) form is approximately $18/SED.
• Exporter Magazine:
• Cost incurred by the U.S. Census Bureau in preparing and processing one SED form is approximately $75.

Geographical Coverage

• Monthly and annual foreign trade statistics with approximately 232 countries worldwide:
• Schedule C: Country classification based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) prescriptions
• Covers over 45 U.S. Customs Districts:
• Schedule D: Classification of U.S. Customs Districts and Ports for Foreign Trade Statistics
• Coverage of imports and exports at Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) areas

Frequency of Data Collection and Update

• The U.S. Imports/Exports of Merchandise CD-ROMs are compiled for each statistical month.
• The CD-ROMs also provide year-to-date totals of import and export trade.
• The December CD-ROMs for import and export trade provide the totals for the year.

Limitations of Data Source

• Poor estimation of low value import and export trade shipments
• Under-coverage of foreign merchandise entering the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) areas
• Possible non-sampling errors in reporting of statistics by importers, exporters, and their agents
• Problems in accurately estimating statistics of transit freight conforming to United Nations (U.N.) guidelines
• Incorrect monthly statistics of exports and imports due to late filings of paper documents

Contact Address