Download experimental Business Dynamics Statistics of U.S. Goods Traders (BDS-Goods Traders) data tables below. Variable definitions can be found in Definitions dropdown below.

The BDS-Goods Traders is a product of the U.S. Census Bureau. The BDS-Goods Traders was developed by the Center for Economic Studies (CES). The BDS data are compiled from the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) and firms’ trading status is obtained from the Longitudinal Firm Trade Transactions Database (LFTTD). The LBD is a longitudinal database of business establishments and firms with coverage starting in 1976. The LFTTD identifies the firms that undertake cross-border merchandise transactions (exports and imports) with coverage starting in 1992. As additional years of the LBD and LFTTD become available, the BDS-Goods Traders will be updated.

The Census Bureau has reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and has approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied. Clearance Number: CBDRB-FY24-0477.

The year t release replaces the year t-1 release e.g. the 2022 release (1992-2022) replaces the 2021 release (1992-2021). Please contact us if interested in prior releases.

tradeid – contains four mutually exclusive goods-trading classifications as follows:

Goods Exporter – indicates that a firm only exports goods in year t; a firm is defined as only exporting goods if it has positive export value and no import value in LFTTD in year t

Goods Importer – indicates that a firm only imports goods in year t; a firm is defined as only importing goods if it has positive import value and no export value in LFTTD in year t

Goods Importer-Exporter – indicates that a firm both exports and imports goods in year t; a firm is defined as exporting and importing goods if it has positive export and positive import values in LFTTD in year t

Goods Non-Trader – indicates that a firm does not export nor import goods in year t; a firm is defined as a non-trader if it has no import or no export values in the LFTTD in year t

division – denotes the nine Census divisions: 1 – New England, 2 – Middle Atlantic, 3 – East North Central, 4 – West North Central, 5 – South Atlantic, 6 – East South Central, 7 – West South Central, 8 – Mountain, 9 - Pacific

The BDS-Goods Traders follows the BDS Methodology.

The goods-trading classification is defined at the firm level. A firm can be in one of four mutually exclusive categories in any given year t: exporter only, importer only, exporter and importer, non-trader. Establishments under common ownership are assigned the same goods-trading classification as the firm.

An example illustrates the assignment of goods-trading status for a multi-sector and multi-location firm. Consider a hypothetical Firm A with five establishments – A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 where A1 and A2 operate in the manufacturing sector in State 1; and A3, A4, and A5 operate in the wholesale sector in State 2. Firm A is classified as an “exporter only”. BDS-Goods Traders will also classify establishments A1 – A5 as “exporter only”. Establishments A1-A2 will be included in the “exporter only” tabulations for the manufacturing sector; establishments A3-A5 will be included in the “exporter only” tabulations for the wholesale sector. Analogously, establishments A1-A2 will be included in the “exporter only” tabulations for the division corresponding to State 1; establishments A3-A5 will be included in the “exporter only” tabulations for the division corresponding to State 2. Thus, trading status is a firm characteristic that describes the goods-trading activities of the enterprise and not individual establishments.

Below are links to selected publications related to the BDS-Goods Traders.