Late last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new rules to help identify cargo shipped into and out of the country.

The new cargo rules, which go into effect Dec. 5, require electronic manifests identifying freight shipped by truck, rail, plane and ship to be sent to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials before the goods reach the border.
"They'll look for trends and they'll look for red flags, such as mislabeled cargo or a record of past violations that might cause a container to be labeled high risk," said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, in announcing the new rules.
Officials said electronic information will be compared with law enforcement and commercial databases to target potentially dangerous shipments that need to be inspected.
But Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Assns., said the trucking industry is concerned about how customs officials will communicate with motor carriers and their drivers, giving them the OK to proceed to a port of entry once their cargo has been cleared.
"Motor carriers need a ‘go’ or ‘no go’ decision as soon as possible to prevent disruptions in the supply chain and to keep on schedule to satisfy the time-sensitive demands of our just-in-time manufacturing processes," Graves said. "This is an enormous task, with over 13 million truck crossings a year on our northern border and more than eight million crossing on the U.S. southern border.
"In addition," Graves said, "any final combination of information technology and electronic notification systems to be required for freight clearance at our borders must be adaptable for use by the broad universe of the trucking industry.
"While most major motor carriers are up to speed in information technology, over 80% of our industry is made up of carriers with five or less trucks — the vast majority of these carriers are likely less-sophisticated in the use of information technology."
However, Graves said ATA looks forward to continuing its partnership with DHS and CBP. "The trucking industry is the most critical link in the economic interdependency among the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We move 69% of the value of freight between the U.S. and Canada, and about 81% of the value of U.S.-Mexico freight. U.S.-Canada trade was valued at $380 billion in 2002, and U.S.-Mexico trade at $232 billion for the same time period."