The U.S. Transport Security Administration (TSA) has issued an emergency amendment to security measures which take effect today March 10, 2011.
The short announcement yesterday contained few details and has caused confusion and delays as air cargo carriers struggle to comply.
Yesterday, Air Canada Cargo notified shippers that they’re halting all cargo flown to the U.S., and then today removed the bulletin from their web site. Shippers will have to contact Air Canada directly for details.
Air Canada, which carries freight in the belly of passenger planes, faces greater challenges in screening air cargo than dedicated air freight operators like FedEX. FedEX Canada said today that it is conducting business as usual.
The U.S. TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has a imposed a deadline to inspect 100% of inbound international air cargo by the end of 2011.
In 2005, about $8.5 billion worth of goods were exported by air from Canada to the USA, a daily average of $23 million. The top carriers, at a guess, are FedEX, UPS, Purolator and Air Canada. The top commoditities were electrical machinery, equipment, parts and small parcels. (Sources: CanadianManufacturing.com, 2011-03-09, “Air Canada suspends cargo shipments to US“; HStoday.com, “TSA Launches Air Cargo Security Initiatives“; (USA) Bureau of Transportation Statistics)