Faced with shifting tariff schedules and persistent supply chain pressure, U.S. importers are increasingly relying on digital tools to stay compliant and cost-efficient. That trend is fueling rapid growth for C.H. Robinson’s ACE Import Intelligence tool, which the company says has now surpassed analyzing over 3 million lines of customs entries.
Analyzing the entire compliance portfolio—across all brokers
Built nearly three years ago to streamline duty tracking and compliance reporting, the ACE Import Intelligence tool is proving especially valuable in today’s evolving trade environment. With regulations shifting and enforcement tightening, importers are using the tool to ensure their customs data is accurate, consistent, and audit-ready.
What truly sets the tool apart is its ability to aggregate entry information across all brokers—not just C.H. Robinson—pulling verified data straight from the U.S. government’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). That centralized view, updated weekly, allows compliance teams to monitor broker activity, validate trade program claims, and spot irregularities early—before they lead to fines, delays, or reputational risk.
Turning customs data into a strategic asset
In a trade environment where the importer of record bears the full weight of compliance, tools that simplify oversight and surface risk quickly are becoming indispensable.
“We’ve seen that importers who leverage their ACE data are better able to control risk, avoid penalties, and even recover duties, said Mike Short, President of Global Forwarding at C.H. Robinson. The real power of this tool is that it gives importers—not just brokers—the visibility they need to own their compliance.
For instance, a CTPAT-certified importer might use the tool’s weekly-updated data to flag newly appearing manufacturers or suppliers in their customs records. This kind of visibility could help ensure internal vetting processes are followed and that any unexpected activity doesn’t compromise compliance standards.
An importer focused on maximizing preferential trade programs, such as USMCA, could use the tool to identify shipments where a claim wasn’t made—but might have qualified. By filtering entries by country of origin or HTS code, they could spot missed opportunities for duty recovery and take action through post-summary corrections. Companies looking to reduce landed costs might analyze duty spend across their manufacturing partners to uncover whether low-volume suppliers in high-tariff countries are creating outsize cost impacts. That insight could inform smarter sourcing decisions or prompt a shift to regions with lower tariff exposure.
Even new or infrequent customs activity—such as a shipment from an unexpected country, or a customs entry filed by a broker the importer doesn’t typically use—can raise red flags. With the ACE Import Intelligence tool, importers can spot those issues early and take corrective action, rather than discovering the problem months later during an audit or enforcement review.
In all of these cases, the tool gives importers the ability to see their full customs footprint—not just broker by broker, but as a connected whole. And in today’s enforcement-heavy environment, that kind of clarity could be the difference between catching an issue early and facing steep penalties later on.
Part of a growing arsenal of customer-centric innovations
The ACE Import Intelligence tool plays a key role in C.H. Robinson’s broader strategy to build self-serve tools that enhance resilience and reduce risk across global supply chains. It complements existing offerings such as the U.S. Sourcing Analysis and U.S. Customs Analytics tools, or the new U.S. Tariff Impact Analysis tool, which lets importers drill down to the SKU level to assess duty exposure with granular precision.
Together, these tools help customers turn their customs data into a strategic asset—empowering them to reduce landed costs, improve oversight, and prepare for shifts in trade and tariff policy. This comes at the same time as customer research shows that more than a third of shippers are analyzing their customs data to plan for changes in tariff and trade policy.
“This tool was built for the kind of trade environment we’re in right now—volatile, high-stakes, and constantly changing,” said Short. “Importers are ultimately on the hook for compliance, and they need tools that not only reveal risks, but make it easier to act on them. ACE Import Intelligence is one way we’re helping them do just that. It’s part of our broader commitment to guide customers through complexity with solutions that meet the moment—and help them stay compliant, confident, and resilient.”
