Cargo Screening's 'Serious Challenges'

The U.S. aviation industry is struggling to meet the requirements under the Improving America’s Security Act of 2007 that, by August 2010, all belly cargo traveling into, from, and within the U.S. be subjected to security screening of equal thoroughness that passengers and carry-ons now undergo. The U.S. Air Transport Association is one of many industry leaders concerned that belly cargo screening will create bottlenecks in the freight supply chain. One approach is a “before packing” system, in which a freight forwarder carries out the inspection, certifies the contents, and seals them for passing along the supply chain, a system known as the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP). However, some congressional leaders say that would not meet the intent of the law. Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that it will not be possible to make such guarantees for inbound cargo by the 2010 deadline. There are doubts that TSA can meet the deadline simply for internal domestic cargo. Currently, TSA merely certifies the methods that shippers, airlines and freight forwarders are using to screen cargo, but TSA is not screening it directly. There is no certified technology capable of scanning large freight pallets, with most research devoted to passenger and baggage screening. There is technology, but TSA has not certified any of it. One stopgap would be bomb-sniffing dogs, which have proven very reliable around luggage and cargo.