From the International Trade Administration’s Market Diversification Tool to the Consolidated Screening List, there’s a lot of free government research offerings for U.S. exporters who are analyzing foreign markets and buyers. Another interactive tool to add to this list is the Global Market Finder from the U.S. Census. This web-based dashboard pulls Census data into a Tableau-powered platform.
To benefit from the tool, users must provide the 10-digit Schedule B code of the item being exported. This number can be obtained simply by describing the item in Census’ Schedule B Search Engine (e.g., copper wire nodules). Select the number in the tool’s ‘Choose a Commodity Code’ drop-down field and all of its Tableau charts will immediately populate with trade data. Even better, the charts and corresponding data can be downloaded in different formats as well.
Here's what can be found on each tab:
- The ‘Map’ tab shows the top five countries by export dollar value (denoted by large red circles) and all other countries (denoted by small blue circles). There’s an option to view this data in a filterable table format to identify which countries are the largest or smallest markets for a particular item.
- The ‘Time Series’ tab reveals the yearly sum of the item’s export value to the rest of the world since 2016. It provides a big-picture view of whether exports are increasing, decreasing, or about the same over the years.
- The ‘Methods of Transportation’ tab shows how total exports were shipped by calendar year in a bar chart format. The shipping method categories are air, vessel (containerized or not containerized), and other. This data is useful for understanding broad transportation trends about a product.
- Lastly, the ‘Unit Price’ tab displays the same total export dollar value for each country shown in the ‘Map’ tab but also includes the quantity sold and average unit price by country for many products.
With some exceptions, EXIM provides support to U.S. exporters of many of the products shown in the Global Market Finder. For more information about EXIM’s eligibility criteria or to get started, please click here to schedule a free consultation with an EXIM trade finance specialist.
