Reach maximum suppliers with the help of US import data
US import data consists of statistical information required by the United States Customs and Border Protection. This statistics is necessary for a range of purposes, including statistical analysis and planning of the system of government distribution. The statistical information on imported goods can be used to study national consumption patterns, trends and patterns, and to understand the relationship between domestic and foreign trade. The importation data also serves as an indicator for statistical analysis.
There are two types of channels through which Import Export data are collected, namely direct and indirect. Direct means that the goods transported are from one foreign country to another foreign country. Indirect means that the goods that are imported do not originate in the US but rather, they are brought to the US from one foreign country through another foreign country. These two channels, when combined, provide a complete picture of the US import data.
The basic types of import data
The basic types of import data are collected at the port of destination and the port of entry. The data on import shipments come in two forms: positive customs numbers and negative customs numbers. Positive numbers indicate a shipment that was received as consignments or free items and, therefore, should be billed and accounted for accordingly. On the other hand, negative numbers mean that a shipment was received as incoming goods but the bill of lading (an itemized list of the items to be charged with duty did not contain enough information to determine the duty charged, hence, the shipment was considered an outgoing merchandise. US import data on the other hand, may be collected from any port in the country.
Data are collected by the customs by visiting each port and getting the actual product description in written form from the importers. Another method of collecting US import data is through telephonic conversations. The information thus obtained can be used to contact the suppliers and to obtain pricing information and schedule the actual shipment. In most cases, however, this process is quite time-consuming and is therefore preferred over the other methods.
Obtaining the US trade data through various mediums
US import data on shipments can be obtained by contacting the shippers as well as the manufacturers and collecting the details of the shipment. From the information obtained, importers can establish the type of goods, quantity, cost and shipping dates. With the shipment details, it is possible to determine which vendors to contact and which ones to ignore. For instance, if the importer has contacts with distributors that do not sell goods on normal prices, he can check whether the distributor is charging more than necessary to get the goods. This will help him reduce the cost of the goods and thus enable him to attract more buyers. Some US exporters also refer to shipping manifests to find out about the mode of shipment and to establish the mode of payment by the buyers and sellers.
The process of collecting US import data starts with the collection of shipping manifests. These documents contain detailed descriptions of each item being shipped. The names of the shippers, their addresses, the destination and time of shipment are provided. By checking the US customs data, importers can establish the origination of the goods as well as determine the types of buyers and the types of transactions. Once this is done, it becomes easier to locate the best possible vendors for a particular product and to arrange for competitive prices.
US import data helps to decide which suppliers to focus on for a particular product. It enables the buyer to locate the right kind of vendors to negotiate with for the lowest price. It is important to note that although US exporters can gain access to the information regarding prices from all over the world, they do not get the privilege of negotiating with suppliers personally. Instead, they refer all questions and queries to their data suppliers, who in turn provide them with the answers. As a seller, you can also benefit by using US import data to find out about the market price of a particular item and make adequate arrangements to sell items at competitive prices. One can simply visit websites like importkey.com to buy the US import data.
