Smooth First Week for U.S. Air Cargo Scanning

(International Freighting Weekly – Mike King)

The implementation of 100% screening of bellyhold cargo on domestic and U.S. outbound international flights has progressed smoothly through its first week, according to shippers and forwarders.

Jim Conway, Executive Director of the Express Delivery and Logistics Association (XLA), says its members have not reported any significant bottlenecks at hub airports. “The TSA (U.S. Transportation Security Administration) has done an excellent job of communicating throughout the industry leading up to the deadline, so there were no surprises regarding the principle that ‘if it’s not screened it does not get on the plane’.” Conway warns, however, that shippers need to keep communication lines open with their expeditors, especially in the early weeks as the system beds in.

DHL’s Global Forwarding division says the new rules, which came into force on 1 August, have not caused any supply chain strains. This is with the exception of a limited number of documentation issues, mostly around certificate wording or chain of custody requirement interpretations. “These were resolved quickly and did not result in any cargo delays,” says a spokesman.

“One item that has come up several times this week is the subject of cargo that can be rendered unusable if it is x-rayed or opened,” he adds. “We have been recommending to our shippers that they label any of these types of commodities with a warning, so it is obvious to everyone in the supply chain that the product can be harmed by exposure to x-rays, or if they’re removed from a ‘clean room’ type of packaging. Certainly, for better control over their own products, it is in the best interests of the shippers to look seriously at joining the Certified Cargo Screening Programme (CCSP).” Read more here.

100% Air Cargo Screening Requirement Met, TSA Says

(World Trade Interactive)

The Transportation Security Administration announced this week that it met the Aug. 1 deadline for screening 100% of air cargo carried on domestic passenger aircraft, as required by the 9/11 Act. TSA is also continuing its work to improve cargo security on passenger flights originating in other countries, requiring 100% of high-risk cargo to undergo security screening and having increased the requirements for overall cargo screening. A TSA press release notes that these steps are part of the agency’s continuing utilization of a multi-layered approach to air cargo security, including procedures for known and established shippers to ship cargo on domestic passenger aircraft, deploying explosive detection canine teams and conducting covert tests and no-notice inspections of cargo operations.

TSA notes that to meet the 100% screening mandate it created the Certified Cargo Screening Program, which allows certified facilities across the country to screen cargo before it reaches the airport. CCSP facilities must be approved by TSA and adhere to strict security standards, including physical access controls, personnel security and screening of prospective employees and contractors. A secure chain of custody must also be established from the screening facility to the aircraft.

TSA states that prior to the Aug. 1 deadline over 900 facilities became CCSP certified. As a result, over half of the more than nine million pounds of cargo loaded onboard passenger-carrying planes each day is prescreened, thus helping to avoid potential bottlenecks at airports.

U.S. Security Panel Urges Repeal of Cargo Scanning Rule

(The Journal of Commerce Online)

Advisory committee recommends shift in supply chain security focus

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection on Thursday called for repeal of laws requiring 100 percent scanning of ocean cargo and 100 percent screening of air cargo.

The bipartisan group made up of representatives of the trade and transportation community said the Department of Homeland Security should shift its supply chain security focus to place more emphasis on air and land transportation security and ensure that minimum security criteria for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and similar programs adapt to changing threats in the supply chain.

The recommendations were included in comments to the DHS policy branch, which is drafting a new national strategy for global supply chain security. Read more here.

Failure to Prescreen Air Freight Could Mean Added Costs, Delays

(DC Velocity – Mark B. Solomon)

An August 1 deadline looms for screening all U.S. cargo carried in passenger aircraft. If more shippers don't sign on to the government's prescreening program, chaos could ensue.

It is the supply chain equivalent of putting a square peg in a round hole: An industry built on speed of delivery is being forced to stop in mid-process and examine every piece of cargo before it is loaded into the bellies of passenger planes.

Starting August 1, all shipments to be carried on passenger aircraft – 3 billion pounds each year moving in U.S. domestic or export commerce – must be screened or physically inspected prior to loading. Compliance with that mandate may prove to be the air-cargo industry's biggest challenge of the post-9/11 era.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which oversees the program, said it is prepped for show time. "Both we and the industry are ready" for the August 1 deadline, John Sammon, the Department of Homeland Security's assistant administrator, transportation-sector network management, said at a June 30 congressional hearing. "All segments of the cargo community are prepared, and we expect that [the August 1 transition] will happen with little disruption." But the industry has yet to walk the walk, and the path is littered with mines… Read more here.

U.S. Likely to Miss Air Cargo Scanning Deadline

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

GAO cites some progress but doubts TSA can make Aug. 3 goal for 100% screening

The Transportation Security Administration has made progress toward its goal of scanning all air cargo on domestic passenger flights by August 3, but the Government Accountability Office says it doubts the agency can make the deadline.

In testimony Wednesday before the House Homeland Security Committee, Steve Lord, GAO director of homeland security and justice issues, said that TSA lacked a contingency plan to initiate if it does not reach the deadline set by Congress three years ago. Read more here.

U.S. Airlines Warn of New Rules, Fees for Unscreened Freight

(DC Velocity – Mark B. Solomon)

Shippers using the nation’s air network after August 1, the deadline for screening all U.S. cargo moving in the bellies of passenger planes, should be prepared to tender their domestic freight much earlier than usual if they expect airlines to screen and inspect the goods prior to loading, according to industry experts.

Dave Brooks, president of American Airlines’ Cargo Division, said the airline will require customers to tender their freight six hours before the aircraft’s scheduled departure if they expect American to screen the goods and still meet the customers’ delivery commitments. American’s current cutoff time is four hours before departure, Brooks said. In addition, American will double its fees after August 1 for screening cargo before it is loaded, Brooks said. […]

By law, all domestic cargo shipped in the below-deck compartments of passenger planes as of August 1 must be certified as having been screened or inspected at some point in the supply chain before it can be loaded aboard the aircraft. In an effort to push the screening responsibility upstream, Congress created the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP), a voluntary initiative that authorizes shippers and freight forwarders to screen and inspect cargo before it reaches the airline. Read more here.

Canada Launches Air Cargo Security Plan

(Journal of Commerce Online)

Government expects 100% shipment screening in five years

Canada will phase in 100% screening of air cargo under a new program that will include some US$90 million of funding to improve security for shipping at the country’s airports.

Canadian Transport Minister John Baird said the program would also include training for companies on how to watch for security lapses in the supply chain, X-ray scanning and the addition of bomb-sniffing dogs. “We must remember that terrorism is not just something that happens somewhere else to someone else," Baird said in announcing the program at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Read more here.

ACSA Seeks Five Cent Screening Fee

(Aircargo Asia)

The USA-based Air Cargo Security Alliance (ACSA), comprising 300 indirect air carriers, direct shippers and customs brokers, has petitioned Janet Napolitano, head of the US Department of Homeland Security, to implement a federal cargo screening program paid for by a US$0.05 cent per pound fee on all shipments.

According to Michael Whately of ACSA, the TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) as it stands will "force most small to mid-size forwarders and indirect air carriers (IAC) to face insurmountable costs and logistical hurdles before they even enter the marketplace. This will result in reduced competition and just-in-time shipping options for businesses will be severely limited. For many, the 100% screening mandate without a federal screening program operating at all American airports makes economic viability impossible."

The trade association now wants the TSA to establish and operate federal cargo screening centres at major U.S. airports and pay for it through a uniform fee.

With the deadline for 100% screening 95 days away, ACSA says "only a fraction of the more than 4,000 registered IAC and shippers have joined the CCSP to date".

Looming August Deadline For Air Cargo Screening

(Lexology)

US law requires that, beginning this August, 100% of cargo loaded onto passenger planes must be screened. This screening requirement applies to foreign originating flights to the United States, as well as domestic flights within the United States. For domestic departure flights, starting in August, aircraft operators will not be permitted to load cargo that has not been screened. Many have worried that this requirement will result in screening bottlenecks at airports and delayed cargo.

In response to these concerns, the Transportation Security Administration created the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP), which allows US businesses to become certified to screen cargo before it arrives at an airport.

TSA and its umbrella organization, the Department of Homeland Security, are encouraging more businesses to become certified screeners. For example, DHS will ‘fast-track’ certified screening facilities for Safety Act designation, which is a form of insurance against terrorism. TSA also has indicated a willingness to consider industry-wide security standards as the bases upon which businesses may become certified to screen cargo under the CCSP. Recognition of such industry standards can reduce the burdens for businesses seeking certification. Read more here.

Screening Of All U.S.-Bound Air Cargo Still Years Away

(NTI)

It could take the Homeland Security Department another two years to ensure that all cargo is screened for weapons of mass destruction before being flown into the United States on passenger airplanes, much longer than originally estimated, a senior department official told lawmakers...

A 2007 law that Democrats wrote as soon as they took over Congress required the Transportation Security Administration to ensure that all cargo aboard passenger flights is screened for weapons of mass destruction by August 2010. The deadline applies to flights originating inside the United States and those from other countries.

But the deadline for incoming international flights will be missed, Gale Rossides, TSA's acting director, told the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

She said the agency might be able to ensure that only 65 percent of cargo on international flights is screened. But TSA will meet the deadline for screening all cargo aboard passenger flights originating inside the United States, she added.

TSA officials have been saying since last year that meeting the August deadline for incoming international flights most likely would not be possible. But the need for another two years is the longest estimate to be disclosed so far.

Rossides said the biggest challenge is getting cooperation from the governments of 20 countries where nearly 85 percent of all cargo comes from.

Napolitano Clashes with Security Panel

(The Journal of Commerce)

Congress and the administration squared off in the latest round of a two-year-old sparring match over100 percent cargo scanning, when Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday testified before the House Homeland Security Committee about the 2011 Department of Homeland Security budget.

Napolitano fended off questions from Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., who wanted to know when DHS would meet a congressional requirement for 100 percent scanning of all containers at foreign ports before they’re loaded aboard U.S.-bound ships. In 2007 Congress set a 2012 deadline for scanning all containers, but gave DHS the opportunity to extend the deadline if 100 percent scanning wasn’t feasible. Since then officials of the Bush and Obama administrations, including Napolitano, have testified that Customs and Border Protection could not meet the 2012 deadline.

Thompson noted that the proposed 2011 DHS budget includes a 48 percent reduction in money for the Secure Freight Initiative, the pilot program that tested the100 percent scanning idea. Customs cut $16.6 million from SFI, and said the pilot would stop at three of the five SFI ports. Read more here.

Screening Air Cargo will Create Backlog

(ITW – Alex Lennane)

Carriers may not be able to cope after August deadline for 100% screening of US-bound cargo

Delays are likely to affect the air freight industry with the introduction in August of 100% screening of cargo carried on passenger aircraft to and from the U.S., carriers have warned. Unless cargo is pre-screened under the U.S.’s Certified Cargo Screening Programme (CCSP), airlines may be unable to cope with initial volumes.

Dave Brooks, president and CEO of American Airlines Cargo, said: “It is simply not possible for carriers to screen all cargo, which would seriously compromise the value proposition of air freight.

“We may have to delay shipments that are not screened, and some customers with unscreened freight who haven’t engaged with us may be inconvenienced.”

While the airlines have been working hard to ensure customers understand the importance of pre-screening under the CCSP, carriers are ultimately responsible for the process. But the amount of cargo that will arrive at airports unscreened is still unknown.

“It’s hard to say what proportion of cargo will be pre-screened,” admitted Dwayne Baird, from the Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs at the US Transportation Security Administration. “But it’s the airlines’ primary responsibility, and I can’t speculate.”

Free Webinar on Air Cargo Screening – February 10

(American Shipper/NITL)

American Shipper, in partnership with the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) and the Express Delivery and Logistics Association (XLA), will be hosting a free 90 minute webinar on Wednesday, February 10th on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) 100% Air Cargo Screening Mandate which takes effect on August 1, 2010.

As of that date, all cargo carried aboard passenger aircraft must be screened. While the industry may have some eight months to prepare for the new requirement, in order to avoid serious problems it will be necessary for many shippers to consider enrolling in the TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).

The webinar will feature Mr. Douglas Brittin of TSA and Mr. Tom Lewandowski of Geodis Americas, a seasoned industry professional with hands-on experience in setting up a CCSP. They will be joined by Richard Macomber, also of Geodis America and Chairman of the League's Air Transportation Committee, and Jim Conway, Executive Director for XLA.

The CCSP program will be critical for many companies and may be the only solution to avoid congestion, bottlenecks and unexpected delays once the mandate comes into effect. Our webinar will guide you step-by-step on what you need to know to prepare for the new screening mandate and how to avoid the pitfalls that may keep your valuable and time sensitive cargo from moving on time.

Please click here to register now.

TSA Warns of Cargo Backlogs with 100% Screening

(Thai Shipper.com)

U.S. homeland security and industry officials are warning that “most shippers have taken few steps to avoid potential supply chain disruptions resulting from screening backlogs at major airports,” reports the American Shipper. The warning comes ahead of the looming deadline for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s Certified Cargo Screening Programme that requires 100% screening of all cargo originating in the U.S. that is to be transported in the bellyhold of passenger aircraft starting August 1.

The report said that as of December 31, more than 120 shippers have been certified to screen their own cargo. A further 410 freight forwarders and 40 independent cargo screening facilities that meet TSA criteria have been approved to deconsolidate and inspect each carton by physical or technical means, according to agency figures.

“We don’t think enough shippers have a plan for dealing with the August deadline because many believe their freight forwarders will simply take care of all the arrangements,” TSA air cargo manager Douglas Brittin told industry stakeholders at a Washington meeting. “If it’s unscreened, it’s not going to fly. It might fly two hours later, six hours later, a day later. It depends on when the next flight is going there,” he said. Read more here.

Study: TSA May Come Up Short on Cargo Checks

(USA Today – Thomas Frank)

A plan to check every package of business cargo for explosives before it is loaded onto passenger airplanes faces major obstacles, according to a government report scheduled for release Wednesday.

The report by Congress’ Government Accountability Office says the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may not have enough inspectors nor adequate equipment to guarantee all cargo is checked for bombs.

The report, scheduled to be presented at a hearing Wednesday, raises questions about whether TSA will meet an August 2010 deadline set by Congress to guarantee that all cargo carried on passenger planes is being screened. The TSA and cargo groups “face a number of challenges in meeting the screening mandate,” the report says.

Most cargo screening will be done by private entities at warehouses and plants where goods are loaded into boxes. TSA inspection teams will oversee the screening, but the agency may not have enough inspectors by August 2010, the report says. Read more here.

Unease as Truckers Not Included in Security Net

(Cargonews Asia – Ian Putzger)

With a deadline of having to screen all bellyhold air cargo by the summer of 2010 looming, the U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has begun to flesh out details of its air freight security strategy. Some of the elements, plus the absence of any government funding for operators’ efforts to comply, have forwarders worried.

At first glance, the TSA’s strategy came as a relief for industry executives who had warned about bottlenecks at airports as a result of mandatory screening. “We’re moving screening back into the supply chain,” the TSA announced, a strategy that is in line with calls from the industry for a multi-layered security regime. “The focus is on shippers and warehousing,” specified Ed Kelly, the TSA’s general manager for cargo, transportation sector network management.

Trucking companies, on the other hand, are left out of the picture. The TSA cited time constraints for its decision not to include the road aspect into the regime. This has forwarders wondering how much responsibility they are going to shoulder once they get certified. Even if they invested in screening equipment for their own facilities, they would have to find ways to ensure that the cargo is secure on the truck from their warehouse to the airline.

“This is something you would certainly want your lawyers to look into very closely,” said Dave Wirsing, president of industry consulting firm Phoenix Marketing, who had previously headed the U.S. Airforwarders Association and has been involved in negotiations with the TSA since the agency’s inception. Wirsing welcomed the TSA’s strategy as a move in the right direction but voiced strong reservations about the decision to leave truckers out of the loop. “You can’t exclude any part of the supply chain in that process and certify only certain elements of it,” he said.

Shipper clearance is another element that has seen some progress but still faces hurdles. The TSA has confirmed that it is moving towards a certified shipper programme in the long run, but as an interim solution it is tweaking the current known shipper regime. Read the complete article.

TSA Pilot Testing Industry Air Cargo Inspection Program

(World Trade Interactive)

The Transportation Security Administration is currently pilot testing in nine U.S. cities a program that allows certain private sector facilities to screen air cargo that originates in the U.S. and is loaded onto passenger planes. The Certified Cargo Screening Program is designed to help the TSA meet a statutory requirement to implement a system to screen 50% of such cargo by February 2009 and 100 percent by August 2010. Phase 1 of the CCSP is now underway in San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Seattle.

According to a TSA information bulletin, the CCSP enables certified cargo screening facilities to screen cargo prior to its acceptance by a freight forwarder or air carrier. Third-party logistics providers, manufacturing facilities, warehouses and distribution facilities may apply to become a CCSF if their facility directly tenders cargo to a forwarder or carrier. Freight forwarders are also eligible to apply.

Although participation in the CCSP is voluntary, the TSA is advocating it as a way for shippers to ensure timely delivery of their cargo. The TSA states that the requirement for 100% screening, which will eliminate current exemptions and alternate means of screening for shrink-wrapped, strapped and banded pallets, is expected to cause “significant air cargo handling delays at airlines where all screening is currently performed.” The CCSP, on the other hand, provides a mechanism by which industry can (a) achieve 100% screening without impeding the flow of commerce, (b) continue to ship certain cargo types without potential invasive screening and related fees later on in the supply chain, and (c) continue to shrink-wrap consolidations and build bulk configurations.

Click here for the complete article.

Air Shipping: Politicans Ask GAO to Review Air Cargo Screening Requirements

(Logistics Management)

With a keen eye on the steps being taken to ensure the 100 percent screening of air cargo on passenger planes, politicians are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the 100 percent cargo screening requirement on passenger planes by 2010 as outlined in “H.R. 1 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007,” which was passed last August and signed into law by President Bush. Read the complete article.