Air-cargo screening100 percent air-cargo screening is going smoothly -- so far
On 1 August a law mandating 100 percent screening of cargo transported on passenger aircraft took effect; the shipping industry says that, so far, are off to a good start; experts point out that August is relatively slow shipping month, and that the real test will come in mid-September, when the busy air cargo shipping season begins
On 1 August a law mandating 100 percent screening of cargo transported on passenger aircraft took effect. The mandate has not been in effect for that long, but the early returns indicate things are off to a good start, according to industry stakeholders.
Jeff Berman writes in Logistics Management that the law was part of H.R. 1, implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007, which required the secretary of DHS to establish a system to enable to airline industry to implement a system to screen 100 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft commensurate with the level of security used for checked baggage.
This requires all air cargo to be screened at the piece level prior to transport on a passenger aircraft for flights originating in the United States, according to DHS’s Transportation Security Administration. Included in this endeavor is TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program, which enables Indirect Air Carriers (IAC’s), shippers, and Independent Cargo Screening Facilities (ICSF’s) to screen cargo for flights originating in the U.S. Berman notes that according to TSA, most shippers involved in CCSP have readily incorporated physical search into their packing/shipping operation at minimal cost without needing to invest in screening equipment.
Before the 1 August deadline kicked in, TSA said more than 900 shippers, freight forwarders, and independent cargo screening facilities became CCSP-certified.
On 2 August TSA announced the airline industry met a key requirement of the 9/11 Act by screening 100 percent of air cargo on domestic aircraft and is continuing to utilize 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.
Berman quotes Brandon Fried, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Airforwarders Association (AfA), to say that “The early returns are that so far it has been relatively transparent and not a significant event. We have really not seen any of the dire hardships that initially in 2007 we thought we would encounter when the legislation was passed.”
Things are smooth so far, but Fried did point out that August is typically a slow month for the air cargo industry, and he added things are likely to become more hectic in September as shippers gear up for the traditional holiday season, which could increase the potential for backlog.
Fried said that while freight forwarders were slow to initially respond to CCSP, they eventually got on board to devise strategies to deal with their screening responsibilities, which led to an upsurge in CCSP validations and registrations.
“It took us a while to get there, and it is an unfunded mandate so we are spending our own money to get in the game,” said Fried. “That is ultimately going to impact consumers and shippers as airlines and freight forwarders are going to have to find ways to recoup those investments. But I think shippers and consumers can be thankful that Congress allowed for a free market solution to the screening issue and let CCSP to exist and that makes the market fluid and dynamic.”
Fried told Berman that the financial commitment for technology-based screening equipment to be between $30,000-$500,000 depending on the type of technology needed for a particular situation (see “Airports, carriers face additional costs as a result of 100 percent cargo inspections,” 12 July 2010 HSNW). Physical cargo inspection may be a good way to initially get into CCSP, but Fried said it is likely not sustainable, because once volumes pick up, opening up every piece of cargo can create various issues and customer dissatisfaction and will lead to more forwarders needing to make the investment into technology. The most common technology used for air cargo screening is explosive trace detection along with x-rays and explosive residue detection.
Getting all the moving parts in the cargo screening process to work together could be viewed as the biggest “kink,” said Richard Fisher, president of Boston-based Falcon Global Edge. By the time mid-September rolls around, heralding the busiest time of the year for air cargo shippers, that will serve as the real test for cargo screening.
