New Profit Center for Customs Brokers, Freight Forwarders

More on Panjiva, Zepol, PIERS, ImportGenius and so on... precipitated by a note from the ether:

Hi John,

Thank you so much for sharing with me the information. 

In your blog - 

http://hbhblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/zepolcom-importgeniuscom-piers.html

"You can buy the info from Customs at $100 per day also, or  roughly $2200 per month.  Nothing special or secret, anyone can do it.   Zepol will sell it to you, all prettified in a lite version for about $250 per month, pro version $500 per month and enterprise version $833 per month.   Either way, at those prices it is better for you to go to Zepol than US Customs.  (If you want the info, I say you are delusional if you are seeking it.)"

Th link you have for the Customs data is no longer active. Do you know where I can find it?

Thanks.

M

M,

The link to buying customs data on steamship manifest is dead, and I cannot find a new link.  At the same time that link is dead, somewhat limiting competition in this already crowded field, we have this:

Among the companies that provide this information service are the Journal of Commerce's PIERS database and Ealing Market Data Engineering Co.

You can also try the American Association of Exporters and Importers in New York.

Wow.  Customs is scrupulous in not showing preference for the services of private companies.  I wonder who decided to give private companies links from a government website to private companies.  It must be very valuable.  It must be a real disadvantage to ImportGenius, Zepol, Panjiva, etc.

http://www.iealing.com/en/index.html seems to be a freight forwarder offering the trade data as a loss leader to drum up logistics business.  

Now my objection to pursuing this data is, as I have said before, that the premise in seeking it is faulty: that knowing your competitors is an advantage.

1. Your focus should always be on your customers.

2. All you need to know about your competitors you will hear from your customers.

If anyone can tell me (the sites that sell data make no worthwhile claim) a use for this data that I have not thought of I’d be delighted to hear.

And nosing around I found another company offering trade data, this one seems to be offering what I teach in my classes.  http://www.veritrade-analytic.com/ ... it looks like what I think the data should be used for.

Searching I found something is did not know.  From USCustoms:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/285/~/importers---confidential-treatment-of-vessel-manifest-data

How can I prevent information about my import activities from being disclosed to the public?

According to privacy statute, 19 CFR 103.31 (d), the public is allowed to collect manifest data at every port of entry. Reporters collect and publish names of importers from vessel manifest data unless an importer/shipper requests confidentiality.

The importer can submit a letter via email (privacy.cbp@dhs.gov) by Fax (202)325-0152/0154 or by mail (address below) to the Privacy Branch requesting that their company name not be disclosed on the vessel manifest. The confidential protection is valid for 2 years, after which time a renewal is needed. 

Well, any Freight Forwarder of Customsbroker worth his salt will offer their clients the service of maintaining the confidential protection every two years, for a fee of $75.  Even a small customs broker with say 100 clients would add $7500 every 2 years to the bottom line.  A big company with 10,000 clients would be adding $750,000 for a procedure that can be automated.  Well, it seems this will kill these data collection sellers since the data they sell will get progressively worse.

In the meantime, Freight Forwarders and Customsbrokers should get business offering this new service and pick up a new revenue stream.  

And I want a thank you note for pointing out this new profit center.

And there is still time to make money off brokering hiding importers.. or misleading them.

Feel Free to email this to three of your friends.

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