Ocean Market Report Launched

August 15, 2000

USDA will begin publishing Agricultural Ocean Transportation Trends, a semiannual, on-line report that provides information on the ocean container market's cost and service trends. Information in the report was developed using data reported monthly in the Agricultural Marketing Service Ocean Rate Bulletin which tracks agricultural container rates to most Asian and some European countries and covers high-valued agricultural commodities.

"We created this report in response to a growing need among agricultural shippers for reliable information and assistance in the area of containerized shipping," said Kathleen Merrigan, administrator of AMS. "It will give them the best, most up-to-date information that we can provide to help them remain competitive and deal with legislated changes in the ocean shipping market."

Data are used to generate monthly container rate trends in the ocean container market to provide shippers and carriers with a better view of how the market is responding to changes in trade patterns or U.S. regulations.

The report also provides a perspective on the new confidential service contracting procedures that came into effect May 1, 1999. This information and other factors which affect, or are expected to affect, the market are collected from interviews with agricultural shippers that control more than 150,000 40-foot equivalent units. Agricultural Ocean Transportation Trends can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/agott/.