Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and here at Zepol this means a time to get together with family and friends for a turkey dinner. The turkey is an American icon and has most certainly weathered this economic recession without difficulties…right?

According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, domestic inventory has decreased from 2008 by 23.2 million heads to 249.9 million; this is an 8.49% decrease. One might try to attribute this decrease merely to the economic times, however total values in imports as well as exports have been going down since 2007, and according to NASS, domestic inventory in any one year during the past decade has not come close to the greater than 300 million head per year production seen in the mid nineties.

This is not to say that Americans are discarding their beloved bird. According to Rod Smith at Feedstuffs, this decrease has a very logical root; the increases in feed prices for turkeys have made the industry unprofitable for the past few years. This problem is only exacerbated by the decrease in exports to Mexico, traditionally the largest recipient of America’s turkeys and who currently holds 44% of the US export market.

Below is data pulled from our TradeView database that illustrates this trend in trade:

The U.S. Census Bureau released their Merchandise Trade data numbers on November 13th, 2009. There was another increase in the Merchandise Trade deficit this month as import growth continues to outpace export growth (click here to see August's U.S. Census data update). Total exports increased 4.67% while total imports rose 7.73% from August. This increased the deficit by 13.82% from August and brings the deficit to $360 billion for the year, which is still 43% of the deficit from the same period in 2008.

Below is an in-depth breakdown of the U.S. Census Merchandise Trade data released last week. This month we have highlighted 5 interesting items that we found while looking at September's data; here are the hightlights:

1. Cell phones up, but only slightly
2. Container shipping is up while the Trade Deficit continues to grow
3. Deficits with our largest trading partners are still growing
4. Numbers on toy imports are mixed
5. Turkey imports are down

Click here for Zepol’s U.S. Census Merchandise Trade Data Update for September 2009

Zepol is pleased to announce a partnership with Logistics Today. Every week in Logistics Today's News and Views e-newsletter, Zepol will provide the previous week's import statistics from a series of market baskets derived from the U.S. Customs import trade data.

These baskets will show logistics professionals from different industries how their imported goods are comparing to other market sectors and the trade economy as a whole. These baskets are diverse, but provide a unique perspective into which direction trade is headed. This information is as up-to-date as any other trade barometer available, so you will have a head start on your competitors.

Below are the import market baskets that Logistics Today will provide to readers:

• Food and Beverage
• Autos and Parts
• Chemical
• Plastics and Rubbers
• Wood/Pulp
• Textile
• Mineral and Stone
• Steel
• Electronics
• Furniture

Each basket is a grouping of products that Zepol has identified as heavily imported. In addition, the data is shown by port groupings (East Coast, Gulf Coast, and Pacific Coast). To see the contents of these baskets, please see our Logistics Today market basket page.

Readers can sign up for Logistics Today’s e-newsletters at http://penton.ebookhost.net/lt/.

Zepol continues to develop more relationships with the media to provide information on trade to the general public and help build understanding of the available trade information available. If your media organization would like to work with Zepol to provide trade information to your readers, please contact media@zepol.com.

Yesterday, we launched a new release of our flagship trade data tool, TradeIQ. This release increases TradeIQ's usability and fully utilizes the speed that our U.S. Customs data tool provides.

As part of this release, we have also expanded our subscription offerings to ensure that companies with budgets of any size can have access to the best trade data tool on the marketplace. Click the links below to see the details of each of our subscription options:

• Professional
• Lite
• Flex
• Enterprise

Click here to view Zepol’s official TradeIQ press release.