Import flows breathe in a yearly rhythm. Those who know the rhythm time their sales work correctly and avoid waiting for nothing.
US imports peak in late summer and early autumn, when retail stocks up for the Christmas season. Construction materials move most in spring and summer. Beverages rise ahead of the major holidays. Flows are lowest in January and February, because warehouses are full and budgets are still being approved.
In our database, each importer's shipment timing pattern is visible. Some buy evenly throughout the year, some in a concentrated way within two windows.
A pitch should be made one to two quarters before the buyer's ordering window, not within it. If the buyer places their main orders in April, January is the right time for first contact and March for price negotiations. Approaching the same buyer in August means waiting a year.
The same logic applies to production planning: the US customer expects you to be able to serve their seasonal peak, and often asks about it directly.
Before you write to your first US target customer, look at their shipment timeline. If the last shipment was a month ago and the previous ones came every two months, they are currently in an active cycle and your email is well timed. You can get this view from us with a single query.
The first consultation is free: together we'll see who in the US already buys your product and how to reach them.