CBP Customs Data
People search CBP customs data because U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) files every ocean bill of lading — then leaves it as a raw AMS/ACE dump. Buying those daily files typically runs about $100 a day (~$36,500 a year) and only covers new filings. Kirchner takes the same CBP ocean manifests, cleans them, prices them, and sells a full year for $5,000–$10,000 — plus free search, maps, an API, and Kirchner AI.
CBP collects the bills.
It does not sell a cleaned research database.
CBP / AMS daily files
The government channel and service bureaus that sit on ACE 309 / AMS downloads.
- About $100 per day of new ocean manifests (~$36,500/year if you keep the pipe on)
- New data only — you do not get 2014–yesterday as a product
- Raw EDI / CAMIR-style dumps: shipper strings, address blobs, no prices
- No name cleanup, no address parse, no API for your notebook
- ACE Portal is for filers (your own shipments), not a public research warehouse
Kirchner on the same CBP file
We summarize CBP ocean bills and sell them cheaper, digital, and ready to query.
- $5,000–$10,000 per year of data in the Data Shop — a full year, not a day
- We go all the way back (Kirchner ocean coverage from 2007 / research tools from 2014)
- Prices added on the bills — CBP manifests do not carry invoice value
- Names cleaned (consignee / shipper strings locked so “Walmart INC” is not 40 firms)
- Addresses cleaned (city, state, factory location parsed for maps and the atlas)
- Kirchner AI (Playground) analyses the bills and can build a tool for your paper
- API + hosted database — run the work on our server; you do not stand up ClickHouse
cbp.gov is the agency.
It is not a $5k research extract.
AMS / ACE is a filing system
Carriers file ocean manifests into CBP’s Automated Manifest System (now ACE). That is compliance infrastructure. It is not a product page where a professor downloads 2018–2025 as CSV.
$100/day is a firehose
Service bureaus that sit on ACE automated manifest downloads typically bill around $100 a day — and you only get new days. A decade of history is not on the menu.
Raw CBP strings are messy
Consignee names, factory addresses, and product text arrive as typed-in AMS fields. CBP does not entity-resolve them. Kirchner does — names, addresses, and (where we can) prices.
Digital means queryable
A daily EDI dump is not “digital” in the sense researchers need. Kirchner is search, SQL, maps, API, and AI on a hosted store of the same ocean bills.
What you actually get
beyond “we have the bills too.”
Cheaper than $100/day
A year of daily CBP-channel files is ~$36,500 and still only covers that year going forward. Kirchner sells a year of data for $5,000–$10,000 — and you can buy earlier years.
History, not only new data
CBP daily pipes start today. Kirchner keeps the back file: research tools cover 2014–present; ocean extracts go back to 2007. COVID, China Plus One, and name-fragmentation papers need that depth.
Prices added
Ocean AMS bills do not include commercial invoice value. Kirchner adds shipment-level prices so you can rank, size markets, and write papers that CBP raw files cannot support.
Names cleaned
AMS consignee and shipper fields are free text. We lock names so “HOME DEPOT USA INC” is not four fake firms. See the name fragmentation paper.
Addresses cleaned
We parse US consignee cities/states and foreign factory locations. That is what powers the Place Atlas and cluster maps — CBP does not ship a geocode product.
Kirchner AI
Playground lets you describe research in English. The AI queries the CBP-derived bills and can assemble a tool you keep. CBP has no research AI.
API + our database
Use Kirchner’s API and hosted store so your scripts hit our server and DB. You do not ingest 1.2 million bills a month into your own cluster. Public endpoints for product trends, lead finder, and company profiles.
Search is free
Maps, atlas, trends, exporters, bill lookup, and journal papers are free (guest cap, then a free account). You pay for raw years — not for looking. CBP does not offer public search of the ocean file.
Citable SQL
Research Desk and the atlas print the query. Reviewers can see what you ran. A folder of ACE 309 messages does not come with a methods appendix.
No filer credentials
ACE Portal and ABI/EDI are for licensed trade users filing their cargo. Kirchner is for anyone who needs the public ocean import universe — economists, journalists, supply-chain teams.
English product search
Type “skateboard” instead of only an HS heading. CBP product_desc is messy English; we index it. HS-4 is derived where the text supports it.
Faster than FOIA
CBP has rejected bulk FOIA for ACE manifest tables. Commercial daily files and Kirchner exist because the government does not ship a public bulk API. Kirchner is the ready-to-query version.
Work the data before you buy a year
Then take the file when the paper needs the dump.
Research tools dashboard
All search and map tools. Register free for unlimited use.
Product cluster maps
Keyword → US importer clusters, origins, factories in the top exporter.
US Place Atlas
Port, consignee city, or foreign factory city. Parsed addresses. SQL printed.
Research Desk
Citable panels. CSV extracts $0.0015/bill, $20 minimum.
Product import trends
Keyword → yearly and monthly US ocean counts from CBP bills.
Public API
Hit our database from your code: trends, lead finder, company profiles. Ask for access.
CBP customs data is AMS bills of lading.
Kirchner is that file, cleaned and hosted.
Under 19 U.S.C. 1431, ocean vessel manifests filed with CBP are public record. CBP’s job is to collect them. Our job is to make them usable: history, prices, locked names, parsed addresses, maps, AI, and an API on our servers.
Stay on ACE if you are a carrier or broker filing your own cargo. Use Kirchner if you searched for CBP customs data, AMS data, or a cheaper way to own a year of US import bills.
CBP customs data vs Kirchner
The comparison that matches what people type into Google.
| CBP (AMS / ACE on cbp.gov) | Kirchner — CBP customs data, usable | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Government filing system + raw daily manifest dumps | ✓ Research database built from the same ocean bills |
| Price | About $100/day for new files (~$36,500/year) | ✓ $5,000–$10,000 per year of data Cheaper |
| History | ✗ Daily pipe is new filings | ✓ Back file (2007+ extracts, 2014+ tools) |
| Prices on the bill | ✗ AMS does not include invoice value | ✓ Prices added Unique |
| Company names | Raw typed strings | ✓ Names cleaned / locked |
| Addresses | Unparsed blobs | ✓ Addresses cleaned for maps and atlas |
| AI research | ✗ None | ✓ Playground: Kirchner AI on the bills |
| API / hosted DB | ✗ No public research API | ✓ API + query our server and database |
| Free search | ✗ ACE is for filers; dumps are paid | ✓ Tools free; pay for the year file |
| Format | EDI / CAMIR / ACE 309 messages | ✓ CSV, SQL, maps, JSON API |
| Website | cbp.gov — agency, not a data shop | kirchnerdata.com — search then buy |
When CBP/ACE is the right box
and when Kirchner is the CBP customs data you wanted.
Stay on CBP / ACE if…
- → You are a carrier, NVOCC, or broker filing your own manifests and holds.
- → You already pay a bureau ~$100/day and only need today’s raw ACE 309 feed into an ops system.
- → You need CBP Forms 28/29, AD/CVD case tools, or ABI entry-summary queries — that is ACE Portal, not Kirchner.
Use Kirchner if you searched this page because…
- → You want CBP customs data as a cheap digital year file, not a $100/day pipe.
- → You need history, added prices, cleaned names and addresses.
- → You want Kirchner AI and an API on our database instead of standing up EDI.
- → You want to search first, then buy 2018 or 2025 when the paper is real.
Skip the $100/day firehose. Buy a year — or just search.
Same CBP ocean bills. Cleaned, priced, historical, on our servers. Tools are free.
Use Kirchner freeWhat people ask after they type
cbp customs data, AMS data, ACE manifest, buy customs data
The agency is U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), website cbp.gov. Ocean bills of lading are filed in the Automated Manifest System (AMS), now part of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Trade users see “ACE ocean manifest,” “ACE 309 automated manifest download,” and “AMS broker download.” There is no CBP storefront that sells a cleaned 2014–2025 research extract.
Daily raw AMS/ACE manifest files through the trade/service-bureau channel typically run about $100 a day. That is roughly $36,500 a year if you leave the pipe on — and it is new data only. Kirchner sells a full year of US ocean CBP data for about $5,000–$10,000, including history, in the Data Shop.
Not as a public research product. ACE is for filers. Daily downloads are current filings. CBP has even rejected bulk FOIA for ACE manifest tables. If you need 2015 or 2020, you buy a vendor back file. Kirchner keeps that history.
No. AMS ocean bills do not carry commercial invoice value. Names and addresses are whatever the filer typed. Kirchner adds prices, cleans company names, and parses addresses for maps and the atlas.
CBP does not offer a research AI or a public query API over all US ocean imports. Kirchner’s Playground is AI on the bills (describe the research; get analysis or a tool). Kirchner’s API lets you run work against our server and database instead of loading EDI dumps yourself.
For US ocean imports, yes: both start from CBP bills of lading. Kirchner serves about 1.2 million monthly ocean bills across 360+ US ports. The difference is the product: CBP collects; Kirchner cleans, prices, hosts, and lets you search for free.
On Kirchner, yes. Research tools, maps, atlas, trends, exporters, bill lookup, and journal papers are free (guest daily cap, then a free account). You pay when you want the raw year or a Research Desk CSV ($0.0015/bill, $20 minimum).
Write us after you have already searched.
The tools are free. This form is for extracts, API, and campuses.
What happens next
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1Try the free tools first so you know the CBP ocean file is the right universe.
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2We reply in person — usually within a day — about year extracts, API access, or Playground.
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3If you only needed search, you never had to send this form.
Kirchner
CBP ocean import bills of lading, cleaned
kirchnerdata.com/research-tools