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🔬 Data & methodology

How Logitality generates corridor intelligence

Logitality synthesises five authoritative public data sources — UN Comtrade, WTO, IMF, EIA, and FRED — to generate landed cost benchmarking, corridor health scores, and sourcing decision matrices for any HS code and country pair.

Five authoritative public datasets, synthesised automatically

Every Logitality corridor intelligence draws on the same official datasets used by governments, the World Bank, academic researchers, and trade finance institutions worldwide.

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UN Comtrade
Trade flows

United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database

UN Comtrade is the most comprehensive international trade database available, aggregating detailed import and export statistics reported by the statistical authorities of close to 200 countries. It covers annual and monthly trade data by HS code, partner country, value (USD), and weight (kg) — representing more than 99% of world merchandise trade.

Data recency: UN Comtrade data reflects the most recently reported official statistics submitted by each country's national statistical authority. There is no fixed reporting schedule — data currency varies by country, and complete annual datasets typically become available 12–24 months after the reference year. Logitality uses the most recently available data for each country and corridor and clearly indicates the reference period for each data point.

Used for: Realised price per kg by destination market, trade flow volumes, origin country ranking, supply concentration analysis, trade growth trends.

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WTO Tariff Data
Tariff rates

World Trade Organization Tariff Download Facility

The WTO Tariff Download Facility provides official tariff schedules submitted by WTO member governments, including Most Favoured Nation (MFN) applied rates, bound rates, and preferential rates under GSP schemes and bilateral trade agreements. Coverage spans 6-digit HS code level for the majority of WTO members.

Used for: MFN tariff rates by HS code and destination country, GSP preferential rate identification, safeguard duty flags, anti-dumping measure alerts (wherever available in official WTO notifications).

Coverage caveat: Tariff data availability varies by country and HS code. Logitality surfaces rates wherever available from WTO schedules and flags gaps. Critical duty rates should always be verified against the official national customs authority tariff schedule.

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IMF Exchange Rates
FX data

International Monetary Fund — International Financial Statistics

IMF International Financial Statistics (IFS) provides official exchange rate data for 190+ currencies, updated regularly. Logitality uses IMF FX history to calculate 30-day and 90-day currency movements between any origin and destination currency pair.

Used for: 30-day and 90-day FX movement calculations, FAVOURABLE / ADVERSE currency flags for each corridor, FX-adjusted landed cost context. FX data updates daily.

EIA Energy Prices
Energy costs

U.S. Energy Information Administration

EIA provides authoritative data on global energy prices including Brent crude oil, natural gas (Henry Hub, European TTF, Asian LNG), and refined product benchmarks. Energy prices are a key input cost driver for many traded commodities — particularly chemicals, plastics, and energy-intensive manufactured goods.

Used for: Input cost pressure factors in Corridor Health scoring. Energy price movements are weighted based on the feedstock intensity of the HS code where this relationship can be established.

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FRED Commodities
Commodity prices

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — FRED Economic Data

FRED aggregates hundreds of commodity price series from government and international sources, including metals (copper, aluminium, steel), agricultural commodities, and chemical feedstocks. These form additional input cost context for relevant HS codes.

Used for: Commodity-specific cost pressure signals in Corridor Health. Particularly relevant for HS codes in base metals, plastics, textiles, and food categories where commodity price movements directly affect production costs.

From raw data to corridor intelligence

Estimated landed cost ranking

For each origin country, Logitality combines the realised trade value per kilogram from UN Comtrade with the applicable MFN or GSP tariff rate from WTO schedules, and contextualises with current FX movement from IMF data. The result is an estimated landed cost index — a relative ranking of origin countries by total cost burden, not an exact landed cost figure.

Why "estimated" not "exact" Freight rates, insurance costs, local handling, and many duty surcharges vary by shipment and are not captured in official trade data. The landed cost index is a directional benchmark — useful for comparing corridors, not for generating precise duty calculations for a customs declaration.

Corridor Health scoring

Corridor Health combines multiple signals — FX movement, input cost changes (energy and commodity prices), supply concentration, and trade flow trends — into a weighted composite score. The weighting reflects the relative materiality of each factor for the specific HS code category.

  • Green: conditions are broadly favourable across the weighted factors
  • Amber: one or more factors showing meaningful pressure — action recommended
  • Red: significant deterioration across multiple factors — urgent review warranted

Each status includes the specific weighted pressure factors driving it, so procurement teams understand the drivers, not just the colour.

Sourcing Decision Matrix

The Sourcing Decision Matrix is AI-generated. It analyses the tariff structure, FTA landscape, and supply dynamics for the HS code and corridor, then maps the key scenarios — FTA changes, anti-dumping impositions, commodity price moves — to the optimal origin under each condition. The matrix is a decision-support tool, not a trading recommendation.

AI compliance considerations

Compliance considerations (REACH, TSCA, SDS) are generated by AI based on the HS code and trade corridor. They reflect known regulatory frameworks for the product category and destination market. They are a starting point for your own compliance verification — not legal advice, and not a substitute for qualified regulatory guidance.

What Logitality does not do

Transparency about the limits of our data is core to how we operate. Trade intelligence is directional — it supports better decisions, it does not make them.

Not a customs declaration tool

Logitality does not generate customs declarations, import entries, or duty payment calculations. All duty figures should be verified against official national customs authority tariff schedules before use in formal filings.

Not real-time freight pricing

Freight rates, terminal handling charges, and logistics costs are not integrated. Landed cost estimates are based on trade flow unit values from UN Comtrade — a proxy, not a live freight quote.

Not legal or compliance advice

AI-generated compliance considerations are a starting point for research. They are not legal advice and should not be relied upon for formal regulatory compliance decisions without verification by a qualified professional.

See the methodology in action

View a real sample corridor intelligence to see how Logitality synthesises these data sources into actionable output.