Steelers vs. Seahawks

Well it’s official the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Seattle Seahawks in Superbowl XL. I’m glad to see the Seahawks will make the trip to the Superbowl for the first time in their history, but the Steelers are my team and am looking forward to them winning their 5th championship!

Swizstick may have a different opinion…

Greatwide Logistics Services

Greatwide Logistics Services has been in the news quite a bit lately and just recently announced their new name, logo, and corporate management team. Greatwide Logistics was formed in 2000 after it was acquired by a New York based private equity firm. The company will position itself as a non-asset-based provider of transportation, third-party logistics, warehouse/distribution and truckload brokerage services.

Raymond B. Greer, CEO of Greatwide Logistics Services, said, “Today, we launch our new name and brand, cementing our position as a leading service provider in this sector. From coast to coast, we operate a range of fully integrated owner-operator truck fleets, with nearly four-million square feet of warehouse distribution space and a broad array of truckload management and brokerage capabilities.”

For more information please visit www.greatwide.com

U.S. based shippers/3PLs : Cargo security legislation you need to look into.

There is a bipartisan effort in Washington to create yet another cargo security agency with claims that it will further enhance ocean container security while also ensuring important benefits to compliant importers are provided by Customs or other government agencies :

S. 2008, dubbed the “GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act,” is designed to correct inefficiencies in existing federal security programs. “Every year, millions of containers move cargo from factories overseas to America’s seaports,” said Collins when she introduced the bill in November. “But too often, we don’t know what’s in these cargo containers. We don’t know who’s handled them. We don’t know if what’s written on the manifest actually matches what’s inside the container. And we don’t know what containers need extra scrutiny.”

Proposals in the $835 million bill include creating an Office of Cargo Security Policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The new office would be charged with coordinating cargo security policies both within the DHS and between the DHS and other federal agencies. Another measure would overhaul the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) to address inefficiencies that were cited in a recent General Accountability Office (GAO) report. In addition, the bill would establish minimum security standards for U.S.-bound cargo, and joint operations centers designed to orchestrate a response and direct the resumption of commerce in the event of a terrorist attack.

The bill takes its name from a provision that would establish a so-called “GreenLane” for shippers that meet the highest standards of security. The GreenLane would address importers’ complaints that C-TPAT does not provide meaningful benefits to compliant companies; importers that qualify for the GreenLane would receive clearly defined privileges, such as expedited cargo clearance and fewer customs inspections.

While it is clear that there has been some question as to the degree and extent of benefits provided to C-TPAT participants, I don’t see how creating another agency, with a price tag of $835 million of taxpayer money, is going to improve the situation. I also don’t see how an agency with the responsibility to “coordinate” security policies between DHS and other federal agencies is even necessary, not to mention meriting such a huge price tag.
Congress wants to know which containers to tag for extra security? Simple. Start giving certified C-TPAT members who have successfully been audited and attained Tier III status within the C-TPAT program REAL benefits by assigning them TRUE “GreenLane” status that Congress wants to implement with this legislation. Tier III C-TPAT participants should be able to have their containers exempt from intensive security inspections and even VACIS x-ray exams. Then start assigning REAL benefits on a tiered down basis depending on C-TPAT members standing within the program. For example, lower tier C-TPAT members whose container gets picked for a security inspection at the port should move to the front of the line for processing compared to those members who perhaps only have been accepted into the program but not audited yet, and you scale down from there. Those containers belonging to importers who are not C-TPAT participants at all should be automatic flags for security inspections.
Instead of writing more legislation, creating more federal agencies, and further bloating the federal budget, wouldn’t it be easier – and far less costly – to apply pressure to US Customs to correct the criticisms that the GAO found in the C-TPAT program? US Customs seems to get it. Just recently in the January 2, 2006 edition of the Journal of Commerce magazine, Peter Tirschwell had a chat with Todd Owens, director of the C-TPAT program with Customs and had this to say:

But the more fundamental reason why C-TPAT is in good shape as we begin the new year is more basic. The program day-to-day is functioning more smoothly, addressing some of the heaviest criticisms leveled against the program in 2004 and 2005. “We took our hits, but we have fixed a lot of weaknesses in the program,” Owen said.
Much of that criticism, such as that contained in a scathing May 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office, focused on the lack of minimum standards and weaknesses in the audit program. Owen said both issues were addressed in 2005, with new minimum standards issued in March and the number and quality of validations significantly expanded.
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As of Dec. 20, 1,405, or 25 percent, had been validated, and validations are under way for another 2,278 applicants, representing another 41 percent on top of the 25 percent already validated. “We’ve had a really strong year in terms of increasing the validations,” Owens said. “Some critics said this was a trust-but-don’t-verify program. We’ve turned it into a trust-and-verify program, and our numbers show that.”

Is C-TPAT a perfect program? Of course not. Can we do more to ensure cargo security? Absolutely. But I don’t see how yet more legislation, budgets, agencies, and bureaucracies can improve either situation.
For more information on this legislation, go to http://murray.senate.gov and http://collins.senate.gov/public.

2005….Year of Consolidations

DHL/Exel….Bax/Schenkers…..TNT to sell off logistics unit…etc. What will all of this consolidation mean to shippers? Who is next in line to be taken over?

Read an excellent article from LogisticsManagement.com covering these topics here.

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