CUSTOMS TO RE-ATTEMPT UPGRADES TO AIR AMS

CUSTOMS TO RE-ATTEMPT UPGRADES TO AIR AMS    U.S. Customs said it will extend its regularly scheduled computer system outage on July 28 to accommodate the implementation of upgrades to its Air Automated Manifest System.
   The outages normally last from 11 p.m. (EST) Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday. It will instead begin at midnight on Saturday and end at 3 a.m. on Sunday.
   Other processes in Customs’ umbrella system, the Automated Commercial System, such as Automated Broker Interface and Ocean/Rail AMS, will be queued until the outage is finished. The Automated Export System will not be affected by the outage, Customs said.
   The agency had attempted to upgrade its Air AMS module in February, but it pulled back at the last minute when a problem was discovered. Customs had found complications with its data transfer to the industry.
   The air-cargo industry was disappointed with the failed attempt to upgrade the system, because it has waited years for the agency to make these improvements.
   “We are hopeful that this next attempt will be successful in the process of improving the Air AMS system,” said Michael R. White, director of facilitation for the Air Transport Association. “We support the level of work that’s being done by Customs’ Office of Information and Technology to enhance the movement of air cargo.”