As of August 1st, 100% of all cargo moving on passenger flights will have to be screened. NNR Global Logistics is now performing 100-percent screening of outbound cargo shipments booked on passenger aircraft at 18 out of its 20 U.S. locations. This screening policy is in line with tougher requirements imposed by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA.) Andy Hadley, NNR USA's Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing said "NNR USA has made a signifi cant investment in making eighteen of our facilities CCSF (Certified Cargo Screening Facilities). Many of our competitors have not made this investment in what are deemed smaller markets and now with the August 1st deadline looming are trying to play catch-up. In late 2008 NNR USA made the decision to invest in making all put two locations CCSF facilities. We have been screening cargo for over one and a half years now and are ready for the August 1st deadline."

NNR USA also has eight facilities certified as TAPA-A which specialize in handling high value cargo. For more information on NNR’s Secure Supply Chain initiative please contact your local NNR Branch Office.

To receive more details about NNR's cargo screening services, use the form on our Cargo Screening page.

Green strategies can add to the corporate bottom line. It is a perfect “win win situation” by improving the environment and generating profits at the same time by reducing costs and enhancing your brand image. The opportunities are being accelerated as governments around the world create incentives to stimulate green technology advances. In the United States, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated approximately $75 billion toward clean energy initiatives. Local and state governments are starting to create the same incentives on a smaller scale. Companies are scrambling to take advantage of these opportunities through the development of new technologies that will allow businesses to reduce their energy consumption, decrease the costs of fuels, reduce waste and become a more sustainable, carbon-neutral organization.

The possibility of having CO2 emission limits or penalties pushed down to companies is getting closer to reality. The Copenhagen Accord created in December 2009 both acknowledged the problem of climate change and states that “deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science”. Developed countries committed to emissions reduction targets by 2020. Developing countries committed to implementing mitigation actions to slow their growth in emissions. There are still many obstacles to be overcome before specific legislation is implemented, but the commitments could conceivably create a bonanza of opportunity for green technology companies. At the same time it could result in an explicit cost on every corporation’s income statement for CO emissions also known as a “Carbon Tax”.

A particular product’s environmental impact consists of a complex web of manufacturing processes, power consumption, and transportation of components and finished goods. By incorporating carbon reduction into their overall SCM strategy, companies can help reduce their environmental emissions footprint, strengthen their brand image, reduce costs and develop competitive advantages. Therefore, companies are looking for new approaches to managing carbon effectively — from sourcing and production, to distribution and product afterlife.

When assessing your firm’s carbon footprint, you must start from the upstream purchase of production materials to the delivery of the finished product to the customer and the packaging waste that is left.  However, the actual transportation of goods most likely creates the highest carbon impact in your supply chain.  NNR is now offering a free white paper to get you started on analyzing your organizations logistics emissions.  You can obtain a copy of the report here:  Managing Logistics Emissions Whitepaper. 

According to a public notice issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s office in Dallas/Fort Worth, starting from Tuesday, January 26, 2010 it will start enforcing a new Importer Security Filing (ISF, 10+2) rule, which will require importers and carriers to file with CBP 12 data elements not normally included on the cargo manifest. The new rule has been in works for more than 2 years and is designed to help CBP step up security and improve anti-terror monitoring. The new rule, referred to as ISF (Importer Security Filing), requires importers and carriers to file 12 data elements 24 hours before a vessel departs a foreign port. As of January 26, 2010, there are 115,000 importers that are already complying with the regulation, but the major concern is small and infrequent importers that are not aware of the rule change.

According to Richard DiNucci, who is a Customs director of the Security Initiative, companies have been having problems in meeting the filing deadlines. As of January 26, 2010 some 70 to 80 % of filings are late or do not meet filing guidelines in some other ways; but he added that situation is stabilizing and they expect to be able to normalize process by the end of the 3 quarter of 2010. Until then, CBP has announced a plan to deal with the problem in a manner that will avoid back logs and give importers and carriers some time to adjust to the new rules. The process will be implemented in 3 stages:

In the 1st quarter of 2010, CBP will concentrate its attention on importers who are not filing ISFs. Measures of enforcement will be used in the form of warning letters. According to CBP, Do Not Load (DNL) holds and Liquidated damages are not expected to be enforced at this time.

In the 2nd quarter of 2010, violators can expect increases in manifest holds and shipment examinations. Additionally, companies who are members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and violate ISF requirements, can expect warnings which might affect their status as a C-TPAT participant as well. CBP does not expect DNL holds and Liquidated damages to be enforced in 2nd quarter.

In 3rd and 4th quarters, violators can expect major increases in the manifest holds and shipment examinations with no ISFs. Additionally, status as a member of C-TPAT can be terminated, temporarily suspended or reduced for the companies who will continue to fail to comply with the new rules. DNL and Liquidated damages will be strictly enforced and all relevant procedures followed through by the CBP.

At all times CBP reserves the right to take any measures deemed appropriate for the national security purposes.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’ office, every case that violates ISF 10+2 will be reviewed on an individual basis before any enforcement action is taken. Penalties for each case will be determined by the local ports and approved by CHQ. If you need more information regarding ISF 10+2, you can contact U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office or log on to the web site: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml