Several trade associations, led by Cargo Network Services, will host an air cargo regulatory conference in the Washington, D.C. area in October.
Several trade associations, led by Cargo Network Services (CNS), are collaborating to host an air cargo regulatory conference in the Washington, D.C. area in October.
CNS, a for profit company owned by the International Air Transport Association that delivers programs and services to the broader air cargo industry in the United States, is organizing the event, but will jointly set the agenda with seven other industry groups that touch air cargo issues in various ways.
CNS announced the creation of the “U.S. Air Cargo Industry Affairs Summit” at its annual conference in Nashville, Tenn., last week, but a final date and location are still to be determined.
The aim is to help industry professionals understand the latest developments at the government level and interact with officials implementing new rules, as well as educate regulators on the impact the air cargo industry has on the U.S. economy, CNS President Lionel van der Walt said.
Three topics that overlap each of the trade associations will anchor the agenda, he said in an interview Tuesday at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America’s conference in Tucson, Ariz.
One panel will focus on the Transportation Security Administration and whether it should revamp its cargo security program after 20 years, as well as the Air Cargo Advanced Screening pilot run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that relies on advance data supplied by a select group of carriers and forwarders.
A second area of joint interest involves CBP’s interaction with air cargo through its new Automated Commercial Environment for processing international shipments, the move to paperless documentation (e-freight) and the concept of an electronic consignment security declaration (CSD).
The CSD provides regulators with an audit trail of how, when and by whom cargo has been secured along the supply chain. Its objective is to meet International Civil Aviation Organization requirements for each consignment received by an air carrier or regulated agent to come with documentation, either on the air waybill or on a separate declaration.
The International Air Transport Association is testing the concept with Lufthansa, according to van der Walt.
Air cargo’s economic importance will be the third key theme.
Joining CNS in setting the conference’s agenda are the NCBFAA, the Airforwarders Association, the Cargo Airline Association, the Express Logistics Association, Airlines for America, the Express Association of America, and The International Air Cargo Association.
Van der Walt, who took over the CNS reins in January, said that in subsequent years, the conference will include a day of visits to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers on important issues to the industry. Such an activity was ruled out in 2016 because members of Congress are distracted by the presidential election and won’t even be in town anymore.
CNS is also hosting a new Innovation & Technology conference in Dallas on June 28-29.
The event is designed to provide a platform for industry professionals with a stake in e-commerce, future technologies and innovative ways of doing business to debate and be informed about the latest developments regarding standards, business process, and IT systems and tools. Topics include e-Air Waybill, and the upcoming CBP implementation of mandatory electronic export in ACE.
(An earlier version of this story omitted the Airforwarders Association as a CNS partner for the conference and had the incorrect name of the Express Association of America.)
Trade associations band together on conference to promote air cargo
