NEUTAUR/Data Glossary/Bill of Lading (Customs Trade Data)

Bill of Lading (Customs Trade Data)

A bill of lading is the shipping record filed with U.S. Customs for ocean freight entering the country — the raw document behind import-trade data.

A bill of lading is a legal document a carrier issues when it takes goods for shipment. For ocean freight entering the United States, a version of this record is filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Each record typically names the shipper (exporter), the consignee (importer of record), a description of the goods, and the weight or container count.

Why it is useful

Because these filings are created when physical cargo actually moves, aggregated import records are a direct, near-real-time read on physical trade — independent of company press releases or analyst commentary. Counting shipments into an industry shows whether physical inputs are accelerating or slowing.

How NEUTAUR uses it

NEUTAUR organizes public customs and UN Comtrade trade records into industry-level flows. These are shown as directional facts (rising, falling, or flat) at the industry and country level. Individual-company shipment volumes are not published, and nothing here is a forecast.

Limits

  • Shipper and consignee names are sometimes masked in public filings.
  • Air freight and some semiconductor shipments are not fully captured by ocean manifests.
  • A record confirms a shipment occurred — it does not, by itself, explain why.

Data source

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) manifests · UN Comtrade