Centralized Exam Stations Business Increasing

Over the past decade, pressure has increased on Customs and Border Protection to inspect the rapidly growing number of containers carrying global products into the United States.

While Customs personnel perform the actual cargo examination, terminal operators can help to keep the shipments moving, allowing the container to be released for inspection and then re-entered into the supply chain for distribution.

Customs works through a network of privately operated Centralized Examination Stations, located at, or in close proximity to, ports of entry. After a pilot program that began in 1985, the CES rules – applicable across transport modes – were published in 1993, several months before the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Local port authorities appoint the stations, typically after a bidding process among qualified vendors.

With the 1994 launch of NAFTA, border crossings with Canada and Mexico saw substantial increases in truck traffic. After Sept. 11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the interconnectedness of traditional Customs inspections with security considerations became a paramount logistical concern.
Most shipments flow into the country without examination; those that are examined are likely moved to a CES.

Some import cargoes are flagged by Customs’ Automatic Targeting System, which employs risk-based algorithms based on manifest data to identify shipments needing further inspection. Sometimes, a very thorough but low-tech inspection in the form of a visual examination may reveal something amiss. For example, in one widely reported instance, sawdust traces pointed Customs inspectors toward a termite infestation in a maritime container’s wooden cargo bracing. In another well-publicized incident, the cargo described on the manifest – for a box coming into the West Coast from Asia – raised numerous red flags. It described children’s toys that were subject to a safety-related recall. In other situations, containers may be randomly selected for trade-compliance inspections by Customs and examined at a nearby CES.

Examination station operators have made their offerings more attractive as regulations multiply and grow in complexity. The operators are able to provide venues for multiple inspections, including those mandated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration and sometimes the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Other improvements made by operators include the addition of power plugs for refrigerated cargoes and cold storage. Some CES facilities support Customs-funded imaging machines that enable Customs personnel to view the inside of containers without opening them. Intrusive inspections – where containers are opened – are done at the CES.

Though many containers will pass inspections, others may reveal contents that differ from their descriptions on manifests, tainted products or contraband material.

To balance compliance with security, cargo inspection requires integrating multiple business processes. Customers and service providers must be kept informed of a cargo’s status, making information systems a vital part of a CES operation. Services include electronic document scans, Web-based tracking of the examination process with electronic data interchange capability and e-mail alerts when shipments have been released or cargo status changes, among others.

Contact Barry Parker at bdp1@conconnect.com