AIR cargo shippers and forwarders have raised concerns that increasing demand during the autumn shipping season will strain screening capabilities in the coming months, including the ability to keepup a brisk screening pace.
"It’s going to get much worse in the next few months," said Mr Tom Lewandowski, manager of logistics operations for Geodis Global Solutions. "We may not even recognise a security delay versus a capacity delay."
The response follows the successful implementation of a US federal government mandate to screen 100 per cent of all cargo carried onboard US passenger aircraft from August 1. The report said that despite fears over potential delays, "the transition went smoothly and the air cargo industry has already moved onto the next hurdle."
Although TSA estimates that 60 per cent of inbound international cargo is already being scanned, an integrated, equivalent international screening network is the next step in supply chain security, with a target date of 2013.
Source: Exim News Service, New York, 20 September 2010