How to Track CBP Import Records: A Freight Broker's Guide

What Is CBP Manifest Data?

Every shipment entering the United States by sea is required to file a manifest with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These manifests — officially called Automated Manifest System (AMS) filings — contain detailed information about every containerized shipment: who shipped it, who received it, what was inside, how much it weighed, and which port it arrived at.

What most people don't realize is that this data is publicly available. Under the Freedom of Information Act and CBP regulations, manifest data becomes accessible to the public after a short window (typically 4 days after arrival). Exceptions exist — companies can request confidentiality — but the vast majority of commercial shipments are visible in the public record.

For freight brokers, this is a goldmine hiding in plain sight.

What's Actually in a CBP Manifest Record?

A typical manifest record includes:

• Shipper name and address — the overseas manufacturer or exporter
• Consignee name and address — the US importer receiving the goods
• Description of goods — what was shipped (e.g., "electronic components," "textile products," "food grade equipment")
• Vessel name and voyage number — which ship carried the cargo
• Port of loading and port of discharge — where it came from and where it arrived
• Weight and container count — how much was shipped
• Bill of lading number — the unique identifier for the shipment

Taken together, this paints a detailed picture of a company's supply chain activity.

How Freight Brokers Use Manifest Data to Find New Customers

The freight brokerage model runs on relationships and lanes. To grow your book of business, you need to identify companies that are actually moving freight — not just any company, but ones with consistent, high-volume shipping activity. CBP manifest data tells you exactly who those companies are.

Here's how smart brokers put it to work:

• Identify active importers in your target lanes. If you're strong on the East Coast, you can filter manifest records by port (Savannah, Charleston, New York) and identify who's shipping the most volume. These are warm prospects — they're already moving freight, you just need to offer a better rate or service.
• Monitor competitors' customers. If you know which freight brokers are active in a particular niche, you can watch their customers' manifest activity. When volume drops or lane patterns shift, it's a signal that something changed — and an opening for you.
• Track seasonal patterns. Many importers ship heavily at specific times of year. Manifest data lets you see these patterns and reach out before the rush, when shippers are actively looking for capacity.
• Validate prospects before cold outreach. Instead of calling a generic list, you can verify that a prospect is actively importing, what they're shipping, and at what volume — making your pitch far more targeted and relevant.

Why Public Records Matter

The fact that this data is public is actually a competitive advantage for smaller brokers. Large 3PLs have dedicated data teams and proprietary tools. But the underlying data is available to everyone. The gap isn't in access — it's in knowing how to use it.

Brokers who learn to work with manifest data operate with a fundamentally different level of market intelligence. They know who's shipping, what they're shipping, how often, and from where. Cold calls become warm calls. Generic pitches become specific value propositions. Close rates go up.

The Old Way vs. the Better Way

Until recently, accessing CBP manifest data meant filing FOIA requests, navigating government databases, or paying for expensive enterprise data subscriptions designed for large corporations. The process was slow, technical, and inaccessible to most independent brokers.

ShipManifestPro changes that. We've indexed over 10 million US shipping records from public CBP manifest filings and made them searchable in seconds. Search by company name, product type, port, or shipping lane — and get results that would have taken hours to compile manually.

Getting Started

If you've never used manifest data in your prospecting process, start simple: pick three companies in your target market and search their import history. You'll immediately see patterns — what they're shipping, how often, and from which suppliers. That context alone will transform your next outreach call.

The brokers building the biggest books of business right now aren't necessarily the ones with the most contacts. They're the ones with the best intelligence.