According to Zepol's online database of U.S. ocean imports, TradeIQ™, December imports increased from November by 17.8% and 6.7% from December of 2011. Total vessel imports for the year of 2012 rose 1.2% from 2011. For the past three years, imports have increased in very small percentages, unlike the large jumps the United States experienced before 2008 (see graph below). Although, with port strikes, hurricanes, and shifts in manufacturing, 2012 was an especially unique year for U.S. imports, which may have impacted the totals.

Methodology:
Zepol’s data is derived from Bills of Lading entered into U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). This information represents the number of House manifests entered by importers of waterborne vessel goods. This is the earliest indicator for trade data available for the previous month’s import activity. The data excludes shipments from empty containers, excludes shipments labeled as Freight Remaining on Board (FROB), and may contain other data anomalies.       


    

Zepol has partnered with World Trade 100 to launch its latest report on the free trade agreements between the United States and South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. In this report, you’ll discover how other professionals feel about the FTAs, what the current trade trends are with those countries, and if the FTAs have made an immediate impact on commerce.

Click Here To Download the Report Free

The report, dubbed Breaking Barriers with Free Trade Agreements, features a survey of 275 trade professionals, expert commentary from Perry Trunick, Editor in Chief at World Trade 100, and import/export statistics from Zepol.

Key Findings from Breaking Barriers

• The most popular FTA is with South Korea. 31% of survey respondents say their company will use the agreements in some way.
• Colombia’s FTA will most likely have a high impact on fuel trade. 75% of the products imported to the United States from Colombia are mineral fuels.
• The United States exports nine times more to Panama than it imports. In 2011, exports went up 36% from 2010.

The Obama Administration has exclaimed this week (May 20, 2012) as one of the most exciting and liberating weeks of the year: World Trade Week! Most international trade professionals wait in anticipation for months to experience this seven-day-celebration. And who wouldn’t be excited? The White House has dedicated an entire week to putting an extreme emphasis on the importance of international trade and what it can do for American workers and our global economy.

Zepol is just as ecstatic because without global trade, we wouldn’t be here, or maybe we would, as a knock off of Zappos or something, who knows. What we do know is that Obama has narrowed his focused on U.S. exports with the National Export Initiative, which aims to double exports in the next five years. We also know what the top exports are from the United States because we are Zepol and we have TradeView™ data.


Zepol will soon have even more export data to add to our suite of trade data tools. This new export data will show information like U.S. shipper names, the products they export, and where the products are going to. So even though World Trade Week will come to an end, and might bring on a mild depression, remember that Zepol always has new and exciting global trade news, so you can get a slice of World Trade Week 365 days a year.

Zepol is pleased to announce the release of their latest report which focuses on the top 20 U.S. ports for 2011. Zepol's "2011 U.S. Port Report" provides a compelling view on how U.S. ports have been performing in the last year. Each port profile provides detailed information on recent trends, key importers, top carriers, and more.

3 Key Insights Found in the Report:

1. Based on TEU volume, 18 of the top 20 U.S. ports showed positive growth from 2010 to 2011.
   
2. China is the number one country of origin for three-fourths of the ports on our list.
3. The Port of Jacksonville posted the largest percent increase in inbound TEUs, rising over 25% in the last year.