Improved technology could be ultimate solution By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOT The Transportation Security Administration’s mandate for screening 100 percent of air cargo loaded onto passenger aircraft—the deadline is coming in August—represents a sticky wicket for U.S. air carriers, shippers, and forwarders. An interim 50 percent screening goal was achieved over a year ago with little disruption to the air cargo supply chain, but the upcoming comprehensive mandate may be something else again. The problem stems from the fact that TSA regulations require that each shipment must be screened individually, and that means at the piece, and not at the pallet or container, level. Pallets can carry as many as 200 individual pieces. If this screening is accomplished before the shipments are consolidated, it may be doable. In fact, the TSA established a Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) to allow for screening by manufacturers, warehouses, third party logistics providers, and forwarders, in addition to airlines, which were reluctant to take on the sole responsibility. But most exporters and forwarders can’t afford to set up a screening operation, leaving them and their customers back at square one. Third party screening operations have emerged to fill this vacuum, and industry groups like the Air Cargo Security Alliance have proposed that TSA establish a federal screening program at airports for those who lack other alternatives, a sort of “public option” for air cargo. But these latter alternatives involve breaking down and then reassembling consolidated shipments, creating a potential supply chain bottleneck. Industry experts say that the one big problem with this whole scheme is that current technologies are not advanced enough to screen air cargo at the pallet level. “Breaking down consolidated shipments at an airport cargo facility is not practical,” explained James May, CEO of the Air Transport Association of America, an industry group representing forwarders. “Shipment size, time constraints and facility limitations are the main difficulties. Dismantling and screening each piece is labor intensive and time consuming.” It can take 75 minutes for two employees to break down and reassemble a pallet, according to May. “Unless substantial screening occurs early in the air cargo supply chain, airlines will be required to screen significant volumes,” said Ulrich Ogiermann, chairman of the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), an air carrier group. “Due to space and resource limitations, de-palletizing, screening and reconsolidating shipments could prove a substantial challenge, and could lead to significant delays once the 100 percent requirement goes into effect.” The TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) was designed to avert some of these problems. “This program enables a high percentage of air cargo screening to be performed upstream in the supply chain,” said May. “Upstream security measures, avoiding the airport cargo facility, are essential in the current environment.” TIACA also supports CCSP. “We do not believe that screening can be the sole responsibility of the airlines, nor do we support the efforts of some entities to federalize all air cargo screening, making it a TSA function and locating it solely on airport grounds,” said Ogiermann. “We believe federalization or airline-only screening would unduly crowd this function onto airport grounds, potentially creating significant bottlenecks. While this might be feasible in certain locales, it would likely produce commercial gridlock at many U.S. airports.” At the same time, industry officials are concerned about the costs of CCSP. “Companies that become certified screeners will need to acquire costly equipment for each of their certified facilities,” said Ogiermann. “This is significant, particularly given the current economic downturn which has reduced air cargo volumes by roughly 25 percent and threatens the viability of many companies.” May of ATTA termed CCSP “a