In the world of chemical data analysis, three factors are most important to clients: timeliness of information, accuracy of results, and context for interpretation.

Timber Mill Research (TMR) specializes in taking publicly available data and creating detailed reports for specific chemicals and compounds that its clients can use to make intelligent business decisions. Because of the level of detail that is needed to provide accurate results, TMR uses the only source of transactional data available – AMS Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. By using this data in conjunction with other datasets and specific Freedom of Information Act requests, TMR provides clarity to its clients' international marketplaces. Delivering the data in Microsoft Excel® Pivot Tables allows its users flexibility in selecting time frames, exporters, and importers for analysis.

Challenge

Publicly available sources of data, like the U.S. Census Bureau's U.S. Imports of Merchandise, lack certain details of transactional information, such as shipment volume and supplier information on importers of a specific chemical. Other trade data providers want to either limit usage to just one type of Bill of Lading and arbitrary product categories or charge high fees for unlimited access. TMR needed a data provider that would treat it like a partner rather than just another account.

In addition, TMR was spending nearly $2,500 on U.S. Census data to view HTS Code driven statistics in complete detail. This data set is essential to TMR's business, but it needed the complete information that available trade data tools did not provide.

Solution

TMR chose Zepol Corporation because Zepol is the only U.S. Customs data provider to allow searches across Bill of Lading types, product categories, trade lanes, and with over six years of history. By choosing Zepol, TMR no longer had a need to buy the source data from the U.S. Census Bureau and saved thousands because TradeView™ provided complete access to this data which was included with its subscription. Zepol assisted TMR by diving into special circumstances when additional research was needed and worked diligently to add value on top of its subscription through frequent product enhancements.

The first step that TMR takes every month is to download the shipments that arrived into Microsoft Excel® using easy-to-use, fully detailed reports from TradeIQ™. Because Zepol does not limit the amount of information that is exposed on the Bill of Lading, this data is the most detailed and accurate in the industry.

Results

To provide accurate shipment value information, TMR researched individual Bills of Lading using both the House and Master Bills of Lading and combined the information with other datasets, including U.S. Census data from TradeView™. By doing this research, it was able to accurately trend and illustrate the prices paid by different companies importing specific products.

Trend of Consignee Commodity Prices

Because HTS Codes are not a standard element of AMS Data, TMR performed searches based on specific keywords. That allowed it to pick up trade names, solution percentages, and product types. The added flexibility allowed TMR to have the most robust trade reports in the marketplace.

Advanced AMS Data Search

TMR invested great energy into delivering reports quickly and used Zepol's industry-leading loading schedule to get the most recent information available. In addition, because TradeIQ™ provides all of the date fields that are present within the data, TMR was able to accurately understand when a shipment was expected to arrive, when it arrived at port, and when it cleared U.S. Customs.

Level of Recency of U.S. Customs Data

Due to the functionality of TradeIQ™, TMR delivered accurate reports in the timeliest manner. TradeIQ™ provided detail and robustness that is simply unmatched. While other data providers offered TMR a search engine for its research, only Zepol provides a daily trade data tool that is continuously improved and a partner in meeting the needs of its clients.