State Export Data Series

• Background
• Origin of Movement (OM) - Based on Origin State
• Origin of Movement (OM) - ZIP Code Based
• Limitations
• Where to Get State and Substate Export Data Products
• Inquiries

Background

The Census Bureau is responsible for collecting, compiling, and publishing export trade statistics for the United States. The paper Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) or its electronic equivalent is filed by qualified exporters, forwarders, or carriers through the Automated Export System (AES). These data measure the physical movement of merchandise out of the United States to foreign countries. Information on the state from which the merchandise was shipped has been collected and made available since the 1980s.

Origin of Movement (OM) State - Based on Origin State

In 1985, a new field indicating the state where the export journey begins, was added. This field allowed the compilation of the State of Origin of Movement Series. The OM series based on origin state, available since 1987, provides export statistics based on the state from which the merchandise starts its journey to the port of export; that is, the data reflect the transportation origin of exports.

Origin of Movement (OM) - ZIP Code Based

The ZIP Code of the United States Principal Party in Interest (USPPI), the party in the United States that receives the primary benefit monetary or otherwise from the shipment, was redefined in 2004 to indicate the origin of movement of goods. It does not necessarily represent the location of the USPPI. Due to increased electronic reporting in the AES, the validity of the reported ZIP Code has improved since 2004.

Effective with January 2006 statistics, a new OM State series - based on ZIP code, will be made available upon request for the following state data products - the FT900 Press Release Supplement, and all three options of the Quarterly and Annual reports.

Limitations

In certain cases, the origin of movement is not the transportation origin. Whenever shipments are consolidated, the state of origin of movement will reflect the consolidate point. This effect is particularly noticeable for agricultural shipments. Intermediaries located in inland states ship agricultural commodities down the Mississippi River for export from the port of New Orleans. In this case, they would report Louisiana, the state where the port of New Orleans is located, as the state of origin of movement.

The primary impact is on the state distribution of nonmanufactured exports, which are generally exported by intermediaries. The most visible result is a tendency to understate exports from some agricultural states and to overstate exports from states like Louisiana that have ports that handle high-value shipments of farm products.

The series DOES NOT represent the production origin of U.S. export merchandise. In some cases considerable manufactured exports are attributed to states that are known to have little manufacturing capability. One reason is that commodities produced by out-of-state suppliers can be shipped from in-state distribution centers. Another factor is shipments of manufactured commodities from in-state warehouses and other distribution centers that are arranged by exporters located out-of-state. In both cases, manufactured exports from the non-industrial state are magnified in the OM series.

Where to Get State and Substate Export Data Products

Each month, the Census Bureau publishes state value totals by manufactured, nonmanufactured and total exports for the OM state data series based on Origin State in the FT900 Press Release Supplement. More detailed data are available quarterly and annually in machine-readable form by state, region or port. A list of the data products and contacts is given below:

• Monthly Summary -- FT900 Press Release Supplement. Trade Data Inquiries & Controls Section: 301-763-2227

• State export data by 2-, 4-, and 6-Digit HS by country of destination and method of transportation is available in the WORLD TRADE ATLAS * U.S. State Export Edition Online. For information or to place an order, call Global Trade Information Services at 202-546-9217 or check their website at http://www.gtis.com .

• Quarterly and Annual OM state data on CDROM. Order Online

  • Option 1: State by 3-Digit NAICS Commodity by Country (Total, Air and Vessel).
  • Option 2: Region by 4-Digit SITC, District/Port of Exit, & Country (Total, Air & Vessel).
  • Option 3: State by District/Port of Exit, & Country (Total, Air & Vessel)- No Commodity Detail.

• Production Origin Series.

  • Exports by production origin are available from Exports from Manufacturing Establishments compiled by the Manufacturing and Construction Division (MCD). The 1997 edition, available on MCD's web site (http://www.census.gov/mcd), gives exports by state, NAICS (North American International Classification System) and major economic sector.

INQUIRIES:

Direct inquiries to the Special Projects Branch, Foreign Trade Division: 301-763-3629.

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