This week, Zepol completed the data for June in our U.S. Customs trade data tool, TradeIQ. June's results show that imports are up from May by 7.6%. This increase is double the average increase from May to June in the last 5 years. In addition, container traffic is down only 12.4% compared to June 2008. These numbers may be one of the first indicators of a recovery for the U.S. Trade economy.

A 12.4% decrease in trade is large, but compared to declines near 20% for previous months, it is promising. This could be a leading indicator that companies have exhausted their supplies and now need to buy products to maintain inventory levels. If the recession settles down to a 12% decrease in imports over the next couple of months or even gets to 5% or 10%, the recovery could be right around the corner.

Below is a table showing the port regions of the world where shipments originated:
The numbers this month point to a trend in near sourcing amongst importers; Central America (includes Mexico) is flat and North and South American import shipments were actually up over both June 2008 and last month. By bringing their suppliers closer to the United States, companies can save on transportation costs and take advantage of low cost countries in the Western Hemisphere. Asia and Europe both continue to show weakness, but the declines are less than previous in months.

On the United States port side, New York and Seattle were winners as their sister ports of Newark and Tacoma were both down. New York's rise and Newark’s decrease of 10.7% is a reflection of the near sourcing trend by American shippers. Container lines should pay attention to these numbers as they could be an indication of a long term trend or maybe just a minor bump in China's dominance of trade.

Below are the top 10 ports in the United States by shipment count:
Zepol's U.S. Customs trade data is taken from Bills of Lading entered into the Automated Manifest System. The information represents the number of House manifests entered by importers of waterborne containerized goods. This indicator is the earliest data available for the previous month’s trade activity.

One of the unique uses of the U.S. Customs Data that Zepol's TradeIQ provides is the ability to find a specific container based on its number. Some companies will use this to track their shipments and see how the shipment information is being provided to U.S. Customs, while others will use this feature to investigate what products have been or what currently is in a container as it travels across the country.

We have heard from several of our customers that they will often note a container number that they see in a shipyard or while driving down the road, and then look up what products have been shipped in the container over the last 6 years. They can see who the companies were that received the goods and which suppliers they received shipments from. In addition, they are able to see detailed descriptions of the products that are being imported.

Some small companies will find that they used the same container as some of the biggest companies in the world or that something odd was in the container the last time it was imported. Below is an example of the last 10 shipments in Container Number: GLDU7104878, showing the date and the products were imported over the last 6 years:

May 2009: Consolidated container with Auto Parts, Fabrics, and Sporting Goods
January 2009: Boxes of Womens Knit Pants with details including the style number and fabric make up
December 2008: Promo Jackets
September 2008: Men’s Turtleneck Knit Tops
January 2008: Scrap Metal
November 2007: Feminine Hygiene Products
May 2007: Wearing Apparel with Invoice Numbers
April 2007: Famous Energy Drink
October 2006: Crackers and Cookies
September 2005: Seasonal Indoor Multi Lights

It is pretty interesting to see the variety of products that are shipped in the same container over time by some of the most noteworthy companies in the world. To see the detail of this container and all others shipped via vessel since 2003, please register for a demonstration at www.zepol.com.