A02.12 PWS US Waterborne Foreign Transportation Data 2023 revised 2023.04.17.docx

Performance Work Statement

U.S. Waterborne Foreign Transportation Data

1) Purpose. To provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center (WCSC) with comprehensive monthly U.S. foreign transportation data similar to manifest data collected by U.S. Customs Border and Protection (Customs) or the Bills of Lading filed by the ship lines to Customs for all U.S. imports, exports and in-transit waterborne commerce to and from foreign countries.

2) Background. On September 28, 1998 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designated the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) as the "central collection agency" for the U.S. Foreign Waterborne Transportation Statistics Program (FWTSP) effective October 1, 1998. The U.S. Bureau of the Census (Census) was previously responsible for this program. This decision followed a review of the U.S. Foreign Waterborne Transportation Statistics program at the direction of OMB. The Corps collects and publishes the data pursuant to its authority under the 1922 River and Harbor Act (33 U.S.C. 555) by which it has historically collected and published waterborne commerce statistics.

The FWTSP requires manifest data that provides the associated cargo and vessel movement transaction data upfront, unlike trade data. In-transit records are included in the manifest dataset, which are movements of foreign cargo through the U.S. from one foreign country to another foreign country. Inbound waterborne in-transits enter the U.S. via marine vessel and outbound waterborne in-transits exit the U.S. via marine vessel.

3) Requirements: The data provided to WCSC shall include information where available via the schedule listed under deliverables and schedules, except where elsewhere noted:

a) The date and trade direction (import, export, inbound in-transit, outbound in-transit))

b) Carrier and shipment details including cargo, weight and container details, product descriptions and codes, geographic indicators, shippers, consignees and notify parties.

c) Processing information including flags or fields identifying/documenting updated records.

d) Minimum data elements to be included in the database are provided below.

e) Coded data items shall be compatible with the data furnished by Customs.

f) Reported commodity description shall be coded to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule commodity codes.

g) Data shall be sent in electronic format.

h) Updated information to previously delivered data shall be provided upon request no more than 30 days after request is made.

4) Considerations. Purchase of these data by the USACE constitutes purchase by a government agency. As such, the data may be used internally by any USACE office without violating any copyright restrictions.

5) Deliverables and Schedule. The data are to be delivered via FTP monthly, not later than six weeks after the close of the month. The data files shall be provided by month and direction with record structure(s) included. Inbound/outbound in-transit records shall be included within the import/export files. Any records that were added for a month after initial month delivered, should be included the first month they are available. A 13th month containing all records not previously sent should be made (if necessary) after the close of a calendar year. WCSC shall be provided field definitions and notified of any changes to the record layout or imputed data (data derived from other fields). Import and export fields should have the same field name, field type, field size, and field definitions except for those fields that are only applicable for either imports or exports. A portal to the live data should be made available so that WCSC can see updates to previously delivered records and confirm that all records have been delivered.

6) Performance Objectives (required results)

a) Completeness in providing data for all U.S. imports, exports, and in-transit waterborne commerce, with the exception of the Virgin Islands and Louisiana Offshore Oil Platform data. Less than 5% of the final weight generated by WCSC should be added from other sources.

b) Level of accuracy required on commodity coding; cargo weight; geographic locations, both U.S. and foreign with no more than 5% of the records requiring corrections. Also should provide at least a 95% match rate against vessel movements reported by Customs.

c) Timeliness in providing monthly data within six weeks after the close of the month

d) Consistency in record layouts and data types for the calendar year

7) Communication Plan.

a) Regularly scheduled monthly meetings between WCSC and provider’s technical staff responsible for addressing discovered data questions, methodologies, errors and concerns.

b) Any data errors requiring a mass update to provider’s database shall be communicated immediately when impacts to the delivery contents (including previously delivered data) and/or schedule are found.

Data Elements and Descriptions

Direction: Denotes cargo direction for exports (waterborne cargoes exiting the U.S. including outbound in-transits) and imports (waterborne cargoes entering the U.S. including inbound in-transits).

Date: For U.S. exports, this would be the date the vessel left the U.S. port. For U.S. imports, it is the date of arrival into a U.S. port by that vessel.

Commodity: A character field that describes the product, copied exactly as written from the manifest or the bill of lading. This is not a standard description; it is the description of the cargo as manifested.

Harmonized Tariff (HS) Commodity Code: HS code for all products and commodities, at least at the 6 digit level field.

HS Commodity Description: The standard HS commodity description based upon the HS Schedule.

U.S. Port Name & Code: Identifies the U.S. port that cargo crossed; for exports it is the load port, for imports it represents the arrival port; based on the U.S. Customs District/Port Schedule D.

Foreign Port Name & Code: Foreign port name and code based on the Schedule K. This port represents the load port for import cargo and the discharge port for export cargo.

Country Name & Code: Foreign country name and code associated with the origin of cargo (if import or inbound in-transit) or destination of cargo (if export or outbound in-transit). The code is based on Schedule C.

Ultimate Origin/Destination Name & Code: For exports, the ultimate destination would be the farther point for the cargo as per the contract between the exporter and the ship line as reflected on the ship's manifest and could be 1) an inland point , 2) a second deep water port (when transshipped), or 3) the same as the foreign port. For imports, the ultimate origin would be the origin point, the original place where the steamship line accepts the cargo and could be 1) an inland point, 2) a deepwater port where the cargo is first loaded before being transshipped at the foreign port, or 3) the same as the foreign port. The code is based on the Schedule K.

U.S. Customs Clearing Point: For imports only. The U.S. Customs clearing point other than the discharge port.

Origin/Destination City & State: (Aids in identifying in-transit records) For exports, identifies the origin city and state and for imports the destination city and state; when available on the shipping documents.

Foreign Customs Clearing District: For imports only. The city and country for the foreign customs clearing district.

Vessel: The full vessel name of the waterborne vessel calling at the U.S. port.

Vessel Code: The Lloyd’s vessel code uniquely identifying the vessel calling at the U.S. port.

Vessel Flag or Registry: Denotes the country of registration for the vessel calling at the U.S. port.

Manifest Number: The U.S. Customs vessel manifest number assigned to the vessel call.

Bill of Lading Number: Denotes the bill of lading number.

Unit of Measure: The unit of measure identifying the type of packaging.

Quantity: Denotes the quantity of the unit of measure; the number of packages.

Reefer: Identifies cargoes that are refrigerated.

RORO: Identifies cargoes that are considered roll on / roll off in nature.

Hazmat: Identifies cargoes that are hazardous material.

Container Flag: A single-character field identifying cargoes that were moved in containers

Container Size: Denotes container size; numerical values would be for the length of the container.

Container Quantity: Count of the number of containers.

Container Volume: Measurement of the cargo in cubic feet.

TEUS: Twenty foot Equivalent Units.

Weight: Weight of the merchandise/cargo; identify unit of measure (pounds, kilos, metric tons)

Value: Estimated dollar value for the transaction.

Shipper & Consignee Name: The company name on the U.S. side of the transaction. For imports, this would be the consignee/importer of the goods as reported on the manifest. For exports, this would be the shipper/exporter of the goods as described on the bill of lading.

Shipper & Consignee Address: Separate fields capturing the street, city, state and zip code for the address of the shipper or consignee.

Foreign Shipper Name: The foreign exporter / shipper name for import cargo only.

Foreign Shipper Address: Separate fields capturing the street, city, zip code, and country for the address of the foreign shipper/exporter.

Notify Company Name: The company name indicating the notify party for goods imported to the U.S.

Notify Company Address: Separate fields capturing the street, city, state, and zip code for the address of the notify company.

Processing Date: The date the record was processed or loaded into the contractor’s database, which generates the monthly file for the Corp.

Update Date: If the record was updated after its initial load, this is the date the change occurred.

Record Number/Identifier: Number to uniquely identify each individual record.