CENSUS, CUSTOMS EXPECT RUSH TO AES IN NOVEMBER

   The U.S. Census Bureau and Customs are anticipating that use of the
Automated Export System by exporters and forwarders will increase rapidly, starting in November.
   About 240 companies are using AES, which accounts for about 8 percent of shipments that require export declarations. The volume of export declarations filed in the system is expected to increase to 40 percent, or by as much as 700,000 commodity lines, by the end of the year.
   The increase in users will mostly be driven by the shutdown of Census’ 30-year-old Automated Export Reporting Program (AERP) on Dec. 31. About 250 companies are still using the system. "We’re trying to urge and assist these companies to convert to AES as soon as possible," said Charles A. Woods, assistant division chief for Census’ Foreign Trade Division.
   There are also a number of large forwarders and express carriers, such as Fritz Cos., Federal Express, Air Express International and BAX Global, that are in the process of migrating to AES. Forwarders file a majority of export declarations for their shipper clients.
   Both agencies say AES is prepared for the surge in filings of export
declarations. "We don’t expect any problems," said Leslie S. Albertson,
Customs’ marketing director for AES. "We know the system can handle it."
   Census plans to focus stepped-up marketing efforts on remaining AERP filers and the top 150 paper export declaration filers.
   "We’re telling the industry that now is the time get onto AES," said C.
Harvey Monk Jr., chief of Census’ Foreign Trade Division. "They shouldn’t wait until December."
   AES was developed three years ago as a way for companies to file their shippers export declarations electronically with Census. The system has since gone through several enhancements and is now in a format acceptable to the industry.
   The voluntary system is expected to eventually become as important as the Automated Broker Interface system is to imports.