I would like to thank everyone who downloaded our
2009 Ports Report. We have received some great feedback and I wanted to answer a couple of the common questions that we have received.
- Where did we source the data from?
We derived all of data in the report from our trade tools, TradeIQ and TradeView. Below is an explanation of where each of the trade data metrics are from:
- TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) – This information is derived from U.S. Customs data. While not a data field that is received from Customs, Zepol uses a proprietary formula to compute the most accurate TEU counts in the industry. Zepol ensures that both FCL and LCL shipments have accurate TEU values.
- Value of Imports – This data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s trade statistics (HS6 Port dataset). Zepol takes the data released by the U.S. government to show the total value of imports for specific ports.
- Number of Bills of Lading – This is the count of Bills of Lading for a specific port from U.S. Customs data. This is the count of all Bills of Lading (FCL and LCL) that list the U.S. port.
- TEU Trend – Last 12 months of shipments by TEU from U.S. Customs data for the Port.
- International Ports Pie Chart – This list the top international ports listed in U.S. Customs data for the port. The international port is the last port shipments left from before reaching the United States. Top 5 are shown along with an aggregation of the other.
- Top Five Products by Containerized Value – Top 5 6-digit HTS Codes reported by the U.S. Census Bureau from shipments arriving in containers.
- Five Key Importers – This will show five of the key importers for the port as they are listed in the U.S. Customs data that Zepol receives. This does not mean that they are necessarily the biggest importers to that port, but some of the bigger names. Some companies will not be listed because of confidential treatment of their shipment records.
- Top Carrier Partners – Top carriers shown on importer’s Bill of Lading records by the SCAC submitted on U.S. Customs records. This is sorted by TEU volume.
- What shipments were included in this report?
All shipment records were included in this report. Zepol did not filter out empty containers or remove Bills of Lading that remained on the vessel. This can create an overstatement for some ports’ TEU volumes, particularly Seattle and Tacoma.
- Why did you not group the ports of Newark and New York?
Zepol chose not to group the ports of Newark and New York because the U.S. Customs data that we receive lists them as two separate ports. While they are under the same port district, they each have individual port codes.
- Why do you require registration for the report?
Zepol is asking for individuals to register to download the report because we wanted to gauge what industry the readers of this report represent in order to create informative reports in the future. We will also be able to notify registrants of new reports we create on other metrics from our data sets. To register and download this report, please click here.
- If I have additional questions, who can I contact?
Please email support@zepol.com or call 612.435.2191 Extension 2 and we will answer any questions you have.