According to Zepol's U.S. Customs trade data tool, TradeIQ™, total inbound shipments for April 2012 are up 9.8% from March and 8.7% from April of last year. This is the second consecutive month with high import increases and, by looking at previous years' trends, we could potentially see even greater import volume throughout the summer.

The table below shows trends in port regions of the world where shipments originated:


Below is the trend of the last 13 months showing total TEU volume and shipments as seen in Zepol's monthly vessel import press release:


Methodology:
Zepol's data is derived from Bills of Lading entered into the Automated Manifest System. 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, and may contain other data anomalies.

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, Zepol thought it would be fun to trend the top gift for Mom, FLOWERS!...and give a friendly reminder not to forget that special Mother in your life this Sunday.

Fresh cut flowers (HTS 0603) have a blossom in imports every year in April and May, which we can attribute to Easter and of course Mother’s Day. In 2011, imports of flowers skyrocketed from March by 113% in April and 34% in May.

If you’re wondering what type of flower to buy, you can’t go wrong with roses. The rose has the highest spike around Mother’s day and an average import value of $4.44/kg. The United States imports over $300 million worth of roses every year, more than any other flower.

Chrysanthemums, alstroemeria (Peruvian lily), and carnations are the other leading ladies and show huge sprouts in Spring imports; they rose from March of 2011 by 90% in April and another 19% in May (see graph above).

Buying flowers for Mother’s Day doesn’t seem to be a wilting trend, so remember whatever flower you buy for Mom this week, she is totally worth it!

A recent New York Times article stated that China and U.S. leaders have reached “some important breakthroughs” on matters regarding trade between the two countries. After heightened protectionism in recent months, the news comes at a crucial time. Both sides agreed to decrease barriers to trade and open up the potential of more foreign investment.

Zepol’s TradeView™ shows a dip in U.S. imports from China in February, reaching the lowest level of imports seen in almost a year. Conversely, U.S. exports to China have shown an increase year-over-year. Below is a graph showing U.S. imports from China as well as U.S. exports to China. The recent talks will likely boost trade relations with China, but how will this affect the future trade balance with China?  

Zepol has released its latest and much anticipated trade data tool, ComplianceIQ™. This new product helps U.S. importers adhere to U.S. government import regulations. ComplianceIQ™ is a unique way to find all the information trade compliance professionals need in order to bring a product into the United States; it combines multiple import-compliance datasets within one online interface, which allows users to find the exact information they need, for specific HTS Codes.


ComplianceIQ™'s vast amount of information can be used to: 

• Classify your products and see how competitors classify their products
• Avoid penalties and view applicable duties and quotas
• Proactively monitor government updates via scheduled emailed reports
• Better demonstrate due diligence if an audit occurs, and much more

Zepol offers a free trial of ComplianceIQ™ and its entire suite of trade-data tools. For more information, a free trial, or free demonstration, click here.