Friday, November 22, 2013

INTTRA co-sponsors new ocean freight indexes

INTTRA, an e-commerce network for ocean shipping, has teamed with freight payment provider Cass Information Systems to create the Cass/INTTRA Ocean Freight Indexes™, a pair of free monthly indexes measuring U.S. import and export ocean container activity, according to a joint press release.

The Cass/INTTRA indexes will reflect data on U.S. containerized marine import and export activity and feature third-party analysis for each month's findings.

Information for the indexes is collected from INTTRA's global database, which represents more than 21 percent of the world's ocean container traffic. INTTRA's network provides trade flow information on 49 ocean carriers and non-vessel operating common carriers connecting to more than 220,000 shippers.

"Through a global view of actual transaction volumes in the containerized shipping market, INTTRA provides a unique, in-depth look into U.S. commerce trends," said Sandra Moran, vice president, product and industry marketing, INTTRA. "We look forward to teaming with Cass Information Systems to bring our multi-carrier ocean transport data into these new indexes."

The indexes are based on data for completed shipments between the U.S. and a select group of 25 leading import and export trading partner countries, which make up the majority of container activity into and out of the U.S, the statement said.

The first index data, issued Tuesday, covers 2010 through October of 2013. Moving forward, the indexes will be delivered on a monthly basis.

The first indexes show that October 2013 container export volumes are up over September's figures, but still below 2012 levels. Meanwhile, October imports grew when compared to the same period in 2012.

"Container exports this year have been weaker than in each of the last three years," according to Rosalyn Wilson, senior business analyst with Delcan Corporation and an internationally recognized supply chain expert. "With signs of a stalling economy, and the ripple effects of the government shutdown, watching imports over the next few months will be interesting."

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