Share this on

F/T's work with Zepol will pay off for readers

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2012

Thomas RussellBy now, readers of this publication may have heard of a company called Zepol Corp. The Minneapolis-based firm collects and analyzes import data gathered from bills of lading and other documents on products that enter U.S. ports and clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
     Furniture/Today got to know Zepol through its press releases documenting monthly import activity. These statements provide estimates of monthly shipments of goods ranging from furniture and shoes to electronics. They also include information about shipping trends by country and which U.S. ports are seeing the most activity.
     The only problem was that the data wasn't very specific to household furniture. That left us at a slight disadvantage because while it addressed broad import trends, it wasn't necessarily relevant to our readers. That prompted Zepol and Furniture/Today to discuss ways that we could make it relevant. This past fall, for example, Zepol broke out residential furniture, and we reported on those findings.
     When we learned Zepol was willing to partner with us, the research and editorial staff at Furniture/Today considered ways we could perform our own import analysis for our readers. The result is a new monthly feature called "On the Water." The first one is in this week's issue on page 56.
     As the title implies, it will focus solely on overseas furniture production and furniture shipments entering the U.S. This month, for example, we take a look at overall furniture shipments in 2011, with a focus on which ports and carriers saw the most activity based on goods shipped from China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
     But more often than not, we will look at quarterly activity from these countries to get an idea of which countries are shipping which categories of furniture. The analysis will also give us an idea of which manufacturers are shipping the most of those categories.
     We also will rely on you, the industry, for your perspective to help tell the story behind the numbers. For example, are there countries we should be focusing on that are increasing shipments to the U.S., or are import regulations affecting the numbers? A word of advance thanks is in order for your insights. We also offer thanks to Zepol for the partnership.
     With this information in hand, we hope to offer a meaningful and timely look at the world of furniture imports.

Share this on

Zepol reports slight increase in overall October imports

Nov 15, 2011

U.S. container imports jump 9.27% in May, Zepol reports

Jun 15, 2011

Also by this author

Also by Thomas Russell

Featured Company

Brandwise Inc.

Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more