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USA Trade Online

USA Trade Online collects detailed statistics on imports and exports for the U.S. These can be broken down by point of origin and point of entry to the U.S.

Accessing USA Trade Online

USA Trade Online requires a password and can only be accessed in the library. Visit Crocker Business Library in Hoffman Hall 201 and ask to be logged in.

Why Use USA Trade Online

USA Trade Online has detailed information on imports and exports that has been collected by the U.S. Department of Commerce. This information can be found in other sources but USA Trade Online is easier to use and also offers easy export to spreadsheets for further analysis.

Data Selection

After logging in, select the time period that you want data for. USA Trade Online offers three ways to search.

  • HS Commodities Code
    The HS Commodities Code is an international standard for describing goods. Codes are in 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 digits. The more digits, the more exact the description (ie a ten digit code is more exact than a six digit code). Enter a keyword to get a list of codes or enter an exact code if you know it.
  • HS Commodity Detail Level
    This displays all information for all codes at this level. These can then be sorted by country.
  • Browse
    Browsing allows you to pick and choose commodities that interest you. Click on the + signs to expand the trees.

After you've made your data selection, you'll need to select the type of report from the left hand column.

Report Types

There are six report types available but not all are available for all data types.

  • Standard Report
    Gives total amounts in dollar value and sometimes in total unit amount. These can be sorted by country of destination/origin and U.S. port of destination/origin.
  • Trade by Commodity
    Shows total dollar value and in some cases quantity and unit price. This can be sorted by country of origin only. Most useful for comparing commodities.
  • Commodity Market
    RankingRanks commodities by country of destination/origin.
  • Commodity Time Series
    Includes annual data from 1999 - present in your results.
  • Country by Commodity
    Displays quick rankings of top imports or exports for specific countries.

Downloading Data

USA Trade Online allows easy export to Excel or other spreadsheet programs. Click the apporpirate link on your results screen. We don't recommend the Beyond 20/20 format as some versions of Excel don't recognize it. USA Trade Online also allows you to save your reports for later but you will need to come to the library to retrieve them. Also, because this a shared account, any other user will be able to access and modify your report.

USA Trade Online does not provide a way to email results.

Logging Out

Once you've completed your research, please click on the Home button and then the Log Out Now button. This allows others to use our account.