Academic tool

Research Desk

Build a citable panel from US ocean Bills of Lading. Choose a research question, run it, then copy the SQL and cite the exact URL. On-screen results are for analysis. Matching bills can be downloaded as a paid extract ($0.0015 per record, $20 minimum).

All research tools · Example paper · Universe: kirchner.bols

Methods (read before you cite)

  • US Customs ocean Bills of Lading only. Air, truck, rail, and informal entries are out of sample.
  • Parties are filing names on the BOL, not resolved legal entities. Pick every name variant that is the same firm.
  • Suppliers are distinct shipper_name strings after trim/upper, dropping blanks and tokens such as N/A.
  • HS codes are as filed. Product search uses case-insensitive tokens in product_desc.
  • A year with few bills can be a filing-name hole, not a real exit. Inspect the yearly table before interpreting churn.
  • Every result below is from the SQL printed under it. Nothing is imputed.
Firm panel · One importer over years Product panel · A keyword or HS code Supplier add / leave · Two periods, one importer

Start from a worked example

Firm panel

IKEA, full sample

Yearly bills, suppliers, origins, and HS mix for one retailer.

Product panel

Solar panels

Who imports it, who ships it, and how volume moved by year.

Supplier add / leave

Walmart, pre vs post 2020

Set comparison of shipper names across two windows.