Census Bureau Links: Home
· Search
· Subjects A-Z
· FAQs
· Data Tools
· Catalog
· Census 2010
· Quality
· Privacy Policy
· Contact Us
Page Last Modified: February 08, 1999
CENDATA(TM) is an online data service offering the most current and widely used facts, specializing in press release and information on ordering the latest data products. Foreign Trade Division puts the entire monthly U.S. erchandise Trade Press Release and Supplement on CENDATA(TM). CENDATA(TM) is made available through cooperating private vendors, DIALOG and CompuServe, that provide nationwide access to information supplied by the Census Bureau through their own long-distance networks. They bill customers for time used on their system, but no extra charge is made for access to the census data. CENDATA(TM) is set up for very simple access: the user retrieves any of several thousand screensful of information simply by selecting appropriate items on a succession of menus. DIALOG also supports key-word searching, but neither vendor provides any mechanism for manipulating the data.
Any computer with a modem and communications software can access CENDATA(TM), once an account has been established with one of the vendors. Most communications software packages can send the information from CENDATA(TM) to the user's printer or save it to a file on a floppy or hard disc. With some effort, the resulting file can be imported into the user's analytic software, although frequently it is necessary to first edit the data in another program.
Most data sets accessibile via CENDATA(TM) are relatively small, because it takes a relatively long time to transmit data over phone lines. Evan at 2400 baud (the fastest speed that currently works well over conventional long distance phone lines), it takes more than 20 minutes to transmit as much data as fit on a floppy disk, and more than a week of continuous transmission to fill up a high-density tape.
The Economic Bulletin Board provides data users with three types of services, reading bulletins, downloading files, and sending or receiving messages to or from the Board. Functions available on other computer bulletin board services such as uploading files or sending messages to othe users are not available on this service.
BULLETINS will provide data users with general economic news, a calendar of release dates for upcoming economic news, contacts in economic statistical agencies, and instructions on how to use the bulletin board. Currently there are 26 bulletins available on the Board.
FILES contain other information which is too large to be included in a bulletin or too specific to be of general interest. These include the major economic press releases from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of the Census. Foreign Trade Division puts the entire monthly U.S. Merchandise Trade Press Release and Supplement up on one of the Board's files.
Files can be downloaded from the bulletin board to the data user's machines. Several numeric files are available in Lotus 1-2-3 worksheet version. These may be downloaded to your machine and used directly with Lotus without intermediate processing to put it into a form readable by Lotus.
For more information on the Economic Bulletin Board you can call (202) 377-1986.
To facilitate the compilation of the foreign trade statistics, various classification schedules are used for translating data such as commodity, country, district, etc. into numeric codes. The schedules contain lists of names or descriptions of the items with their assigned numeric codes. Following is a list of the classification schedules used in compiling and publishing the foreign trade statistics:
Copies of Schedule B and HTSUSA may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. For information regarding other schedules, contact the Bureau of the Census.
The National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) provides analysts and policymakers with the best of the trade and export promotion data from 15 federal agencies. Established by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the NTDB is the result of the Trade Act's charge to the Secretary of Commerce and other federal agencies to assemble economic, demographic, social, and other statistics of the United States and other countries that are of use to "business firms that are engaged in export-related activities and to Federal and State agencies that promote exports."
The data series in the NTDB include merchandise trade import and export data from the Bureau of Census; the complete text of the CIA World Factbook; U.S. international transactions data, and the quarterly National Income and Product Accounts, prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis; exchange rates, and foreign interest rate data, compiled by the Federal Reserve Board; international labor and price statistics, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the complete text of the International Trade Administration's publications "Understanding U.S. Foreign Trade" and "European Community 1992 Analysis," as well as the data tables from the U.S. Industrial Outlook; and many other data files, which comprise more than 600 megabytes of information--enough to fill over 1,500 floppy diskettes.
The NTDB will be continually updated and distributed each month on one optical disk, known more commonly as a CD-ROM. Each monthly disk contains the complete data base, and includes user-friendly software that will make locating, extracting, and printing NTDB data a fast, simple process.
The NTDB CD-ROM can be used on an IBM-compatible personal computer equipped with a minimum of 512K of memory, and ISO 9660 CD-ROM reader, and the Microsoft CD-ROM DOS extension (version 2.0 or higher). The NTDB software will support a color monitor and mouse.
A 12-issue annual subscription to the National Trade Data Bank CD-ROM is $360, and can be arranged through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at 703-487-4630. Mention the NTIS publication number PB90-59174LEP. Single copies of the most recent NTDB CD-ROM are available for $35, and may be ordered from NTIS at 703-487-4650. Mention the NTIS publication number PB90502345LEP.
Although the principal means of distribution of the NTDB is through CD-ROMs, NTDB data may also be obtained on magnetic tape and by electronic transfer from the NTDB mainframe computer. For more information on these "NTDB Premium Services," contact NTIS at 703-487-4630.
For more information on the National Trade Data Bank, please call the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Business Analysis at 202-377-1986.
Certain foreign trade reports show the following country subcodes to indicate special tariff treatment afforded some imported articles.
Code Definition
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OGN Country of origin; no special program claimed by importer.
SHP Country of Shipment, Country of Origin Unknown.
GSP Articles imported under the Generalized system of
Preferences (GSP) provisions of the HTS
PTA Articles imported under the provisions of the U.S.-Canada
Automotive Products Trade Act.
ACA Articles imported under the provisions of the Agreement on
Trade in Civil Aircraft.
CFT Articles imported under the provisions of the U.S.-Canada
Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988.
CBA Articles imported under the provisions of the Caribbean
Basin Economic Recovery Act of 1983.
IFT Articles imported under the provisions of the Isreal Free-
Trade Implementation Act of 1985.
CFA Articles imported under the Compact of Free Associations Act.
The following codes indicate the free or dutiable status of
merchandise imported into the United States:
FREE ITEMS:
Code Definition
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
00 Articles entered into bonded warehouses or Foreign Trade
Zones, duty not applicable.
10 Free under specific provisions for free status prescribed in
Rates of Duty columns of HTS chapters 01 to 97, inclusive;
or free under certain special classification provisions in
HTS chapter 98 except those referred to, by HTS number,
elsewhere in this list of rate provision codes.
11 Articles entered into the U.S. Virgin Islands from foreign
countries for which no duty is calculated.
13 Free as articles to be processed under bond for exportation,
including processes which result in articles manufactured or
produced in the United States (see HTS number 9813.00.0520);
or free for manufacture in bonded warehouse and export.
14 Free as supplies for certain vessels and aircraft. Includes
equipment and repairs to vessels if duty remitted.
16 Free as articles imported by or for the United States
Government which otherwise would be dutiable under specific
provisions in HTS chapters 01 to 97, inclusive, were it not
for the following provisions for free entry in HTS chapter
98, subchapter VIII:
Articles for military departments (HTS number 9808.00.3000)
Articles for General Services Administration
(HTS number 9808.00.4000)
Articles for Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Department
of Energy (HTS number 9808.00.5000) Articles for the
Commodity Credit Corporation. (HTS number 9808.00.7000)
18 Free under provisions established by legislation,
Presidential Proclamation, or administrative action not
covered by a more specific free rate provision. Free items
specified in chapter 99 of the HTS and articles claiming
free entry under special programs such as the Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP) are assigned rate provision
code 18.
DUTIABLE ITEMS:
61 Dutiable at rates prescribed in the General Rates of Duty
column of HTS chapters 01 to 97, inclusive.
62 Dutiable at rates prescribed in the Rates of Duty column
labeled "2" of HTS chapters 01 to 97, inclusive.
64 Dutiable at rates prescribed for Israel or Canada in the
Special Rates of Duty column in HTS chapters 01 to 97,
inclusive.
70 Dutiable at various or special rates prescribed in Rates of
Duty columns of HTS chapters 01 to 97, inclusive. No duty
calculated.
79 Dutiable at rates prescribed in Rates of Duty columns of HTS
chapter 99. No duty calculated.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Agency Phone Number ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Action 202-606-5108 Administrative Conference of the U.S. 202-254-7020 Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts 202-633-6236 Advisory Comm. on Intergovernmental Relations 202-653-5536 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 202-606-8503 Agriculture, Department of 202-720-8732 Agriculture Research Center, Beltsville, MD 202-720-8732 Air Force, Department of 703-545-6700 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Bureau of 202-927-7777 Andrews Air Force Base 301-981-9111 Arlington National Cemetery 703-697-2131 Armed Forces Institute of Pathology 202-576-2800 Arms Control and Disarmament Agency 202-647-2034 Army, Department of 202-545-6700 B Bolling Air Force Base 703-545-6700 Botanic Gardens, U.S. 202-225-8333 C Cameron Station, Department of Army 703-545-6700 Capitol, U.S. 202-224-3121 Census, Bureau of the 301-457-2794 Center for Disease Control 202-690-8598 Claims Court, U.S. 202-219-9657 Commerce, Department of 202-482-2000 Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. 202-376-8177 Commodity Futures Trading Commission 202-254-6387 Comptroller General 202-275-5481 Comptroller of the Currency, Office of 202-874-5000 Congressional Budget Office 202-226-2621 Consumer Product Safety Commission 301-504-0100 Council of Economic Advisers 202-395-5108 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 202-633-6550 Court of Appeals, U.S. 202-273-0300 Customs Service, U.S. 202-566-2000 D Defense, Department of 202-695-5110 Defense Information Systems Agency 703-545-6700 Defense Intelligence Agency 703-545-6700 Defense Logistics Agency 703-274-7495 Defense Mapping Agency 703-545-6700 Defense Nuclear Agency 703-545-6700 District Attorney, U.S. 703-557-9100 District of Columbia Government 202-727-1000 Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services 202-727-1762 DC General Hospital 202-675-5000 Police, Department of 202-727-1000 Public Library 202-727-1111 Superior Court 202-879-1010 Drug Enforcement Administration 202-401-7834 E Economic Development Administration 202-481-5113 Education, Department of 202-708-5366 Energy, Department of 202-586-5000 Engraving & Printing, Bureau of 202-566-2000 Environmental Protection Agency 202-260-2090 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 202-663-4264 Executive Office of the President 202-395-3000 Export-Import Bank of the U.S. 202-566-2117 F Farm Credit Administration 703-883-4000 Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors 202-452-3000 Fed. Aviation Admin. Eastern Region, Falls Church, VA 703-285-2570 Federal Bureau of Investigation 202-324-3000 Federal Communications Commission 202-632-7000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 202-393-8400 Federal Election Commission 202-219-3440 Federal Emergency Management Agency 202-646-2500 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 202-208-0200 Federal Labor Relations Authority 202-382-0748 Federal Maritime Commission 202-523-5773 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 202-653-5290 Federal Mine Safety, Health Review Commission 202-653-5633 Federal Register 202-523-5240 Federal Service Impasses Panel 202-382-0981 Federal Trade Commission 202-326-2000 Financial Management Service 202-208-1515 Fine Arts, Commission on 202-566-1066 Fish and Wildlife Service 202-208-5634 Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN 202-653-2398 Food and Drug Administration: Rockville, MD 301-443-1544 Foreign Assets Control, Office of 202-622-2500 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission 202-653-5883 Fort Belvoir 703-545-6700 Fort Lesley J. McNair 703-545-6700 Fort Myer 703-545-6700 Freer Gallery of Art 202-357-1300 G Government Services Administration 202-708-5082 Government Printing Office 202-512-0000 H Health and Human Services, Department of 202-619-0257 House of Representatives, U.S. 202-224-3121 Housing and Urban Development, Department of 202-755-5111 Howard University Hospital 202-865-6100 I Immigration and Naturalization Service 202-514-2000 Income Tax Information, Federal 800-829-1040 Indian Affairs, Bureau of 202-208-5116 Institute of Museum Services 202-606-8536 Inter-American Development Bank 202-623-1000 Inter-Department Radio Advisory Committee 202-482-0319 Inter-Governmental Organization for Migration 202-862-1826 Interior, Department of 202-208-3100 Internal Revenue Service 202-566-2000 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 202-477-1234 International Boundary Commission 202-736-9100 International Joint Commission 202-736-9000 Interstate Commerce Commission 202-927-7119 J Joint Chiefs of Staff 703-545-6700 Justice, Department of 202-514-2000 K L Labor, Department of 202-219-5000 Land Management, Bureau of 202-208-5717 Library of Congress 202-707-5000 M Marine Barracks, Department of Defense 202-433-2258 Marine Corps, U.S. 703-545-6700 Marine Mammal Commission 202-606-5504 Marshall's Service, U.S. 202-633-1750 Mental Health Administration 301-443-4515 Merit Systems Protection Board 202-653-5916 Metric Programs, Office of 202-482-2000 Mines, Bureau of (Publications Division) 202-501-9797 Mint, Bureau of the 202-566-2000 Museums: Lincoln Museum (Fords Theatre) 202-426-6924 National Air & Space Museum 202-357-1300 National Gallery of Art 202-737-4215 N National Academy of Sciences 202-334-2000 National Archives & Records Administration 202-501-5525 National Capital Planning Commission 202-724-0174 National Comm. on Libraries & Information Science 202-254-3100 National Council on Disability 202-267-3235 National Endowments for the Arts 202-682-5400 National Endowments for Humanities 202-606-8438 National Institute of Health 301-496-4000 National Institute of Standards & Technology 301-975-2000 National Labor Relations Board 202-254-9044 National Library of Medicine 301-496-6095 National Mediation Board 202-523-5920 National Naval Medical Center 301-295-5358 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 301-443-8910 Washington Science Center 301-443-8910 National Park Service 202-208-6843 National Science Foundation 202-357-9859 National Security Council 202-395-3000 National Telecommunications and Information Admin. 202-482-2000 National Transportation Safety Board 202-382-6600 National Trust for Historic Preservation 202-673-4000 National Weather Service 301-443-8910 Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 301-267-6100 Naval Observatory 202-653-1507 Navy, Department of 703-545-6700 Nuclear Regulatory Commission 301-492-7000 O Office of Management & Budget 202-395-3000 Office of Personnel Management 202-606-2424 Office of the Trade Representative 202-395-3000 Organization of American States 202-458-3000 Overseas Private Investment Corporation 202-336-8400 P Panama Canal Commission 202-634-6441 Park Police, U.S. 202-619-7310 Patent and Trademark Office 703-308-4357 Patuxent River Naval Air Station 301-863-3000 Peace Corps 202-606-3886 Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corp. 202-724-9091 Postal Rate Commission 202-789-6840 President's Commission on Arts & Humanities 202-682-5409 President's Commission on Mental Retardation 202-619-0634 President's Commission on White House Fellowship 202-395-4522 President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports 202-272-3421 Public Debt, Bureau of 202-874-4000 Public Health, Commission of 202-619-0257 Q R Red Cross, American National Headquarters 202-737-8300 Research Council, National 202-334-2000 S Savings Bonds Division, U.S. 202-447-1775 Secret Service, U.S. 202-435-5744 Securities and Exchange Commission 202-272-2550 Selective Service National Headquarters 202-724-0820 Senate, U.S. 202-224-3121 Small Business Administration 202-205-6600 Smithsonain Institution 202-357-1300 Socail Security Administration 800-772-1213 State, Department of 202-647-3686 Superintendent of Documents, Gov. Printing Office 202-783-3238 Supreme Court, U.S. 202-479-3000 T Tax Court, U.S. 202-606-8724 Tennessee Valley Authority 202-479-4412 Transportation, Department of 202-366-4000 Travel and Tourism Administration, U.S. 202-482-2000 Treasury, Department of 202-566-2000 U United Nations Information Center 202-289-8670 U.S. Attorney's Office 202-514-7566 U.S. Board for International Broadcasting 202-254-8040 U.S. Courts 202-633-6000 U.S. Information Agency 202-619-4700 U.S. Postal Service 202-268-2000 V Veterans Affairs, Department of 202-737-5050 Voice of America 202-619-4700 W Walter Reed Army Medical Center 202-576-3501 Washington National Airport 703-685-8000 Washington VA Hospital Medical Center 202-745-8000 White House 202-456-1414 World Bank 202-477-1234 X Y Z
CALIFORNIA
John E. Reeder
Regional Director
Room 810
11777 San Vicente Blvd.
Los Angelos, CA 90049-5076
(213) 209-6616
FTS: 8 793-7104
COLORADO
William F. Adams
Regional Director
P.O. Box 260750
7655 West Mississippi Avenue
Denver, CO 80226-0750
(303) 286-2200
FTS: 8 776-2200
GEORGIA
James F. Holmes
Regional Director
Room 625
1365 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309-3174
(404) 347-2271
FTS: 8 826-3141
ILLINOIS
Stanley D. Moore
Regional Director
Suite 557
175 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-2689
(312) 353-6251
FTS: 8 353-6251
INDIANA
Joseph S. Harris, Chief
Data Preparation Division
Room 247
1201 East 10th Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47132
(812) 288-3344
FTS: 8 358-3344
KANSAS
Marvin Postma
Regional Director
One Gateway Center
4th and State Streets
Kansas City, KS 66101-2419
(913) 236-3728
FTS: 8 757-3728
James L. Berger, Chief
Personal Census Service Branch
1600 North Walnut Street
Pittsburg, KS 66762
(316) 231-7100
FTS: 8 231-7100
MASSACHUSETTS
Arthur G. Dukakis
Regional Director
Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Federal Building
10 Causeway Street, Room 553
Boston, MA 02222-1084
(617) 565-7100
FTS: 8 300 376-7770
MICHIGAN
Dwight P. Dean
Regional Director
Room 565
Federal Building
U.S. Courthouse
231 West Lafayette
Detroit, MI 48226-2769
(313) 226-7742
FTS: 8 226-7742
NEW YORK
Sheila H. Grimm
Regional Director
Room 37-130
Jacob J. Javits Federal Office Building
26 Federal Plaza
New York, New York 10278-0044
(212) 264-3860
FTS: 8 264-3860
NORTH CAROLINA
William F. Hill
Regional Director
Suite 505
222 South Church Street
Charlotte, NC 28202-3220
(704) 371-6142
FTS: 8 672-6142
PENNSYLVANIA
LaVerne V. Collins
Regional Director
1st Floor
1055 7th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3395
(215) 597-4920
FTS: 8 597-4920
TEXAS
John E. Bell
Regional Director
Room 3C54
1100 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX 75242-0399
(214) 767-0621
FTS: 8 729-0621
WASHINGTON
Leo C. Schilling
Regional Director
Suite 500
101 Stewart Street
Seattle, WA 98109-1098
(206) 442-7800
FTS: 8 399-7800
With the July 1992 statistics, the following country sub-codes and descriptions are effective. Three categories (e.g. primary, secondary, and census) of country sub-codes are available for import detailed reports. The primary codes appear in IM145 (Magnetic Tape and/or CD-ROM) and IM146 as outlines below. Secondary Special Program Indicators and Census Special Program Indicators are available only in a supplemental Special Program Indicator magnetic tape or IM146A hard copy report.
Primary Special Program Indicators:
Magnetic Tape Hard Copy &
& CD-ROM Code Microfilm Code Description of the Program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0 OGN Country of Origin; No special programs
claimed.
1 SHP Country of shipment, Country of Origin
Unknown
4 GSP Items Imported under the Generalized
System of Preference (GSP) provisions
of the HTSUSA
9 CBA Items Imported under the Provision of
the Caribbean Basin Economic Rocovery
Act of 1983
B PTA Automotive Products Trade Act (APTA)
C ACA Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft
I IFT United States/Isreal Free Trade Area
Implementation Act of 1985
J APA Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA)
W PRR Puerto Rico product improved in a
Caribbean Basin Initiative Country
and returned to the United States
X CFT U.S./Canada Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act of 1988
Z CFA Compact of Free Association with
Marshall Islands and Federated States
of Micronesia