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A Comparison of Alternative Estimators for Revised Monthly Import Statistics

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Working Paper Number RR87-18

Introduction

Each month the Census Bureau issues a report containing the U.S. foreign trade statistics. The statistics in these reports are used in a broad range of settings from determining the nation's trade balance to monitoring import quotas to providing detailed information of interest to individual American industries. In these reports the Census Bureau's goal is to produce accurate statistics on imports and exports at both the aggregate and detailed level on a timely basis. Data for monthly tabulations are received on a flow basis from the U.S. Customs Service. Delays in collection of the required documents and in their processing and shipment to the Census Bureau can extend the time between actual importation and inclusion in tabulations to as much as a year. This carryover problem was thought to be relatively minor, involving perhaps 15 to 20% of the documents. However, it was discovered that, in fact, in 1985 the carryover was closer to 45% each month.

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Page Last Revised - October 28, 2021
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