|
|
|
Subscribe to Advertising & Marketing Review!
Contact Ken Custer at 303-277-9840.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Brief Guide to the STAT-USA Internet Database
from STAT-USA
Department of Commerce
STAT-USA, a federal office, is the electronic information dissemination arm of the
Economics and Statistics Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. As a result of the
Onmnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, STAT-USA also is the administrator of the
National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) for the federal executive branch. In these roles, STAT-USA
is the official one-stop source for electronic information on international trade data, business and
economic information from the federal government. Over forty federal agencies use STAT-USA
as their official disseminator for their economic releases and reports. STAT-USA is the only
place where its possible to simultaneously search for international and domestic economic infor-mation
across multiple federal sources. Currently, STAT-USA's principal products and services
include STAT-USA /Internet www.stat-usa.gov, the National Trade Data Bank (NTDB)
CD-ROM, and USATRADEONLINE, under partnership with the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Objectives of the "The STAT-USA Companion
to International Marketing"
The objective of this project is to permit users to more effectively use the information in the
STAT-USA Internet database. This companion is intended to contribute to implementing STAT-USA's vision statement: "STAT-USA will produce, distribute, and assist other government
agencies in producing world class business, economic, and government information products that
the American business and public can use to make intelligent and informed decisions."
Over the years, STAT-USA has sought to reach potential users of its database. In recent
years, because of limited resources, efforts were primarily directed toward U.S. exporters. While
STAT-USA presently has many subscribers it concluded that a "guide" to the Internet database
would be a valuable tool to better assist U.S. businesses in their marketing research and analysis.
However, because many of STAT-USA's users also are U.S. colleges and universities, the
companion is additionally directed toward assisting these institutions in the application of STAT-USA
data for research, analysis, instructional and general purposes. The objective is to develop
and include instructional materials on the use of STAT-USA /Internet to assist faculty members
of colleges and universities teaching subjects such as export development, international business,
and international marketing.
The educational materials developed in this project are also intended to fulfill STAT-USA's
commitment under a broader departmental initiative to assist minority serving institutions. On
September 23, 1999, the U.S. Department of Commerce conducted a conference to explore ways
to build relationships and expand opportunities with minority serving institutions. At that confer-ence,
the Economic and Statistics Administration, STAT-USA, committed itself to provide its
STAT-USA /Internet database to all minority serving institutions. Minority serving institutions
are defined as historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and
institutions with significant Hispanic student populations.
STAT-USA : The Site
STAT-USA plays a vital role in Commerce's mission by delivering valuable economic,
business, and trade information to the public. Its flagship service, STAT-USA / Internet
(www.stat-usa.gov) delivers thousands of documents to U.S. citizens every day. Banks, brokerage
firms, economic forecasters, and individual investors rely on federal economic news distributed
by this service. Thousands of U.S. exporters rely on the comprehensive trade data bank main-tained
by STAT-USA , and the world is literally at their fingertips through STAT-USA /Internet.
Hundreds of college and university professors and students are using STAT-USA /Internet in
their curriculum and research, and state and local governments are using it in their efforts to
promote economic development through international trade.
Since 1985, when STAT-USA and its predecessor agency initiated electronic dissemination
of information, STAT-USA has promised to Òproduce, distribute, and assist other government
agencies in producing world-class business, economic, and government information services.Ó
Today, STAT-USA serves over 10,000 direct customers ranging from libraries, universities,
businesses, other government agencies, and individuals. However, this number is deceiving.
One customer may be an entire university campus serving thousands of students and faculty.
Also STAT-USA has established an outstanding relationship with the Federal Depository
Libraries (FDL); its services are extensively used in over 1,200 FDLs located throughout the
country. Any citizen can walk into the library and use STAT-USA services at no charge.
STAT-USA is entirely fee funded; there are no costs to the taxpayers. With the approval of
the U.S. Congress, STAT-USA was chartered in 1994 to operate as a revolving fund, paying for
its activities through subscription charges to those who take advantage of the service. STAT-USA
was challenged to transform itself from an organization funded by appropriations to one that
must operate in a competitive market environment like any other business.
STAT-USA partners with 13 other federal departments or agencies, as mandated by the
Ominbus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, to provide federal data to the public. These
departments and agencies are: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Labor, Treasury, State, Office
of Management and Budget, Central Intelligence, Federal Reserve Board, International Trade
Commission, Export-Import Bank, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Also the
Small Business Administration and the Department of Energy participate on a voluntary basis.
STAT-USA views itself as a tool for the executive branch to electronically deliver timely
and accurate international trade, business, and economic data. Presently, over 40 agencies,
branches, divisions, offices, or other units of the federal government supply data found on STAT-USA. The STAT-USA partnerships with these organizations are vital to an effective one-stop
source for federal data.
STAT-USA/Internet Site (www.stat-usa.gov) and Content
STAT-USA/Internet is the site for the U.S. business, economic, and trade community,
providing authoritative information from the federal government. The structure of the site re-mains
consistent with the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The site is divided
into two sections: the State of the Nation, and GLOBUS and the NTDB, the subject of this
companion.
While the State of the Nation segment is not covered in the companion, it is briefly men-tioned
here only to provide the reader with a short description of the information that can be
obtained in this section. The State of the Nation provides current and historical economic and
financial releases and economic data. Taken together, these data and information provide current
information on the direction of the U.S. economy. Broad categories of data found in State of the
Nation include; the scheduled federal economic releases of the day, the composite indexes of
leading, coincident, and lagging indicators (published by the Conference Board), and general
economic indicators, as well as current releases in the areas of: housing and construction,
employment, manufacturing and industry, monetary statistics, and economic policy. The State
of the Nation library contains historical economic data.
This "Companion" primarily addresses the information in the GLOBUS and National Trade
Data Bank Section that provides information on current and historical trade-related news re-leases,
international market research, trade opportunities and country analysis. These general
categories include: the daily, business and trade leads from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Defense Logistics Agencies, Commerce Business Daily, and the United Nations; the Federal
Reserve Board's current exchange rates; market and country research reports from the U.S.
Foreign and Commercial Office, Department of Agriculture, and the State Department; and the
World Factbook and the Cuba Report from the Central Intelligence Agency. The GLOBUS and
National Trade Data Bank Section includes "The International Trade Library" that contains
historical information on international business and economics.
For more advertising and marketing help, news, resources and information visit our Home Page.
Back to top
|
|
|
