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Access U.S. customs trade data through bill of lading search

PIERS is the leading provider of import and export data at the detailed, bill-of-lading level – a heritage rooted in 40 years of amassing the industry's largest U.S. waterborne trade data set. Every day, on average, the PIERS team processes close to 60,000 bills of lading that are filed with U.S. Customs. Within hours of receipt, we verify, standardize, enhance and load the data into our products so that you can spend your time on business decisions rather than data collection. The PIERS team integrates this transactional trade data with standardized company details so you can also identify imports and exports by company. In addition to U.S. trade data going back to 2003, you can find detailed import and export transactions for 14 international markets and trade statistics for more than 80 countries. Many customers use PIERS as a complement to our aggregated trade data product, Global Trade Analytics Suite

The PIERS three-tier subscription model offers a scalable solution that lets you:

Increase operational efficiencies with decision-ready data
Make smarter decisions based on greater data accuracy
Capitalize on market opportunities by tracking supply-demand shifts
Benchmark competitor shipments, trading partners, suppliers and strategies
Generate sales leads by targeting companies based on their trade activities

Experience PIERS in action

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PIERS U.S. Data Coverage

U.S. waterborne import and export trade data covering 100% of U.S. port locations
Total bills of lading: 20,747,997 processed in 2015 with over 10 billion data fields
Company records: 45 million records with 2.2 million distinct company names
Average daily bills of lading processed: 56,844
Trading countries: 213
Historical data: Back to 2003
U.S. export bills of lading: 3,986,093 processed in 2015, including:
- Non-containerized export MTONs: 418,353,584
- Distinct containers: 5,195,210

PIERS Non-U.S. Data Coverage

Data for 17 countries in Central and South America, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
Import and export bills of lading, including importer and exporter names: Central America, Chile, Ecuador, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam and Turkey
Detailed import and export data, including company names: Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Turkey and Argentina (importer names only)

PIERS Data Fields

Bill of lading number
Vessel name, IMO code, voyage number
Ocean carrier/shipping line
NVOCC
Consignee name/address (only for U.S. imported shipments, not for U.S. exported shipments)
Shipper name/address (included for both imports/exports, unless the company has applied for confidentiality from U.S. States Customs)
Notify name/address (only for U.S. imported shipments, not for U.S. exported shipments)
Location and country of lading
Departure date (included for U.S. exports, arrival date indicated for U.S. imports)
Location and country of destination
Port of discharge/transshipment port
Description of goods (full description and PIERS-generated summary)
Weight
Container number(s)
Six-digit HS code
Master and house bill of lading numbers
Estimated value
Vessel flag/country of registry
Containerized/non-containerized
Refrigerated, potentially hazardous, roll-on/roll-off cargo

Recent Enhancements to PIERS

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Is PIERS right for you?

Nearly all of the top 20 ocean carriers, many of the world’s biggest NVOCCs and 3PLs, and transportation, energy, chemical, agriculture and finance companies trust PIERS for their trade data.

Who uses PIERS?	How?
Terminals Port Operators	Monitor and analyze transshipment hubs and opportunities Conduct carrier lifting analysis by port pairs Perform commodity or customer targeting analysis Review competing ports and terminal activity by carrier
Carriers	Measure competing carrier market share shifts by region, country, port pairs Conduct customer or commodity targeting sales campaigns for increased liftings at designated ports Perform trade lane analysis for new service expansion Maximize profits by focusing on customers moving high-rated commodities
Manufacturers Importers Exporters	Monitor competing country and company inroads Oversee designated supplier and customer activities to ensure they remain within contractual compliance Penetrate new markets
Banks Insurance companies	Expand sales by locating and identifying specific companies meeting required parameters for sales targeting
Government agencies	Provide lists of companies within specific geographic parameters
Trade organizations	Find aggregated company data on all companies that import or export from the U.S. and that export from non-U.S. countries
3PLs Freight forwarders Transportation firms	Identify sales leads by searching for shippers and consignees within certain parameters

The PIERS Difference

When you subscribe to PIERS, you are getting the highest quality data, which our specialists have cleansed, standardized and enhanced through a six-step process.

Step One: Structure
PIERS specialists structure disparate data sources into a single model.

Step Two: Standardize
PIERS specialists normalize various names, abbreviations and codes for ports to a reference set.

Step Three: Validate
PIERS specialists validate voyage information against port entry and exit logs published by U.S. Customs.

Step Four: Code
PIERS specialists parse raw text cargo descriptions into brief commodity descriptions and assign Harmonized System (HS) codes.

Step Five: Calculate
PIERS specialists calculate consistent weight and TEU values across the entire data set, accounting for consolidated shipments, multiple commodities, filings errors and other special cases.

Step Six: Enhance
PIERS specialists use PIERS historical reference sets and algorithms for added value data points – identifying refrigerated cargo, adding company data and more.

Bill of Lading sample

FAQ

What is a bill of lading and what is its purpose?: A document issued by a carrier or their agent to acknowledge receipt of cargo for transport. The Bill of Lading (BOL) serves as a conclusive receipt, contains the terms of the contract of carriage, and serves as a document of title to the goods. When transport involves intermediaries such as NVOCCs (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers), a “Master BOL” refers to the document issued by the ocean carrier, where the “House BOL” is typically issued by the NVOCC on behalf of the shipper. One or more house BOLs may be issued for cargo on a single Master bill of lading.
What is the pro number on a bill of lading?: A pro number is usually a carrier generated number representing the load, it is used for tracking and billing purposes.
What is SCAC on a bill of lading?: The Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) is a privately controlled US code used to identify vessel operating common carriers (VOCC), it is typically two to four letters long. An example SCAC is “NYKU” which is used for the ocean carrier NYK Line.
What is the difference between waybill and bill of lading?: Bill of lading is the legal document that details the type, quantity and ownership of the goods as well as their destination. It also serves as a receipt when the goods arrive at their destination. The waybill is the invoice that also accompanies the goods from shipper to final destination. In international trade outside of the United States, bills of lading are distinct from waybills in that the latter are not transferable and do not confer title.
What is a TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent) or a FFE (Forty-Foot Equivalent) in shipping?: A unit used to describe the size of a cargo container. One twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) container is 20 feet long; a forty-foot long container is two TEU. The TEU unit is used through the maritime and transportation industries to describe and measure vessel capacities, transportation activity, and trade flows. Similarly to a TEU, a “FFE” is another industry metric used to describe forty foot containers. Volume can be described using either TEUs or FFEs depending on preference.

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