Survey: 100% scanning disrupts few forwarders

Survey: 100% scanning disrupts few forwarders    Further evidence that the U.S. government’s Aug. 1 mandate to screen all piece-level cargo on passenger aircraft is not causing any major delivery interruptions came Thursday from the Airforwarders Association.
   Sixty-seven percent of the 709 companies responding to an internal survey reported that they had not experienced any problems with delays after handing over consignments to airlines.
   Of the forwarders that responded, 88 are Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSF) that have been audited and approved by the Transportation Security Administration as having proper equipment, training, processes and secured areas to self-inspect the shipments of their customers. The shipments are labeled and then do not have to be screened at the airport by airlines.
   Another 28 percent of indirect air carriers said they only had “scattered” problems, which they characterized as “minor start-up glitches.”

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   The survey results, which were shared with American Shipper, showed 5 percent of the forwarders encountered serious issues getting cargo moved on time.
   When asked to advise which airports and airlines posed the most problems, few were named and there was no discernable pattern.
   More than half of the respondents (55 percent) said industry appeared well prepared and were not worried about screening congestion as the peak shipping season starts in several weeks.
   “Clearly this is result of a lot of hard work, planning, and investment by all of the stakeholders – indirect air carriers, our trucking partners, airlines and TSA. Being realistic, the first week of August is not known for high volumes. That test will come in the fall but members seem optimistic that as processes are refined and more CCSF’s come on line that the industry is up to the challenge,” Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, said in an e-mail. ' Eric Kulisch