FPDS Query Library
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Sea Transportation

Boolean or coded flag indicating whether sea transportation is required for the IDV contract action. In FPDS it represents a contract-data condition rather than a descriptive narrative, and the observed value may be a code such as "U" rather than a plain yes/no string.

Family: IDV
Category: Contract Data
Data Type: boolean_or_code_flag
Semantic Type: flag
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation
Title
Sea Transportation
FPDS Path
IDV/contractData/seaTransportation
Description
Boolean or coded flag indicating whether sea transportation is required for the IDV contract action. In FPDS it represents a contract-data condition rather than a descriptive narrative, and the observed value may be a code such as "U" rather than a plain yes/no string.
Business Meaning
This field helps analysts identify awards with maritime logistics requirements, which can affect competition, pricing, delivery risk, and compliance review. It is useful for segmenting intermodal or ocean-shipping-related obligations and for identifying awards that may involve specialized transportation clauses or performance constraints.
Example Value
U
Observed Non-Null Count
1,268,884

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation
FPDS XML Path
IDV/contractData/seaTransportation
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'IDV/contractData/seaTransportation' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building

Common Usage

  • Filter awards that require maritime transport capability
  • Segment IDVs with logistics or shipping-related conditions
  • Review compliance or market concentration for ocean-transport procurement

Common Mistakes

  • Assuming the field is always populated with a literal boolean value
  • Treating a coded value like "U" as unambiguously true without checking the data dictionary or source extract

Query Guidance

Inspect distinct values first, then map codes explicitly in SQL. Example pattern: CASE WHEN seaTransportation IN ('Y','YES','T','1','U') THEN 1 WHEN seaTransportation IN ('N','NO','F','0') THEN 0 ELSE NULL END, with the code list adjusted to the values observed in your dataset.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation AS sea_transportation
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Flag distribution

SELECT
    content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation AS flag_value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__IDV__contractData__seaTransportation IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY flag_value
ORDER BY record_count DESC

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.