Logistics, Trade Administration and Supply Chain

Water transportation service is limited in scope for several reasons. Domestic water service is confined to the inland waterway system, which requires shippers to be located on the waterways or to use another transportation mode in combination with the water. In addition, water service on the average is slower than rail. Availability or dependability of water service are greatly influenced by the weather. Movement on the waterways during the winter is impossible and floods and droughts may also interrupt service at other times as well. There is tremendous capacity available in water carriers with barge tows up to 40,000 tons and there are individual barges with standardized dimensions of 26 by 175 feet and 35 by 195 feet. Capability and handling are being increased as barged carrying ships are being developed and such improvements as satellite navigation with radar, refined depth finders and auto piloting mean  around the clock service. Water services are provided in all leg...

Air transportation is being considered by increasing numbers of shippers for regular service, even though air freight rates exceed those of trucking by more than two times and those of rail by more than 16 times. The appeal for air transportation is its unmatched origin to destination speed, especially over long distances. Air service dependability and availability can be rated as good under normal operating conditions. Delivery time variability is low in absolute magnitude, even though air service is quite sensitive to mechanical breakdown, whether conditions and traffic congestions. Variability when compare with average delivery times, can rank air as one of the least reliable modes. The capability of air has been greatly constrained by the physical dimensions of the cargo space in the aircraft and the aircraft's lifting capacity. This is becoming less of a constraint, however, as larger aircraft are put into service. For example, jumbo airplanes such as Boeing 747 and L...

The railroad is a long hauler and slow mover of raw materials [coal,lumber and chemicals] and of low-valued  manufactured products [food, paper and wood products] and prefers to move shipment sizes of at least a full carload. This relatively slow speed and short car distance travelled in a day reflect the fact that the majority of freight car time is spent on loading and unloading operations, moving from one place to another within terminals, classifying and assembling cars into trains or standing idle during seasonal slump in car demand. Rail service exist in two legal forms, common carrier or privately owned. A common carrier sells its transportation service to all shippers and it is guided by the economic and safety regulations of the appropriate government agencies. In contrast, private carriers are shipper owned with the usual intent of serving only the owner. Because of the limited scope of the private carrier's operations, no economic regulations are needed. Nearly all ...

A non-negotiable sea waybill is a transport document covering port-to-port shipments. It is not a title document, is not negotiable and cannot be endorsed. A complete non-negotiable sea waybill contains the following elements: Name of the carrier with a signature identified as that of carrier, or ship's master, or agent or on behalf of either the carrier or the ship's master An indication or notation that the goods have been loaded on board or shipped on a named vessel. also, the date of issuance or date of loading An indication of the port of loading and the port of discharge as specified in the original sales contract or documentary credit A sole original or if issued in multiple originals, the full set of originals The terms and conditions of carriage or a reference to the terms and conditions of carriage in another source or document In a documentary letter of credit, no indication that the document is subject to a charter party and/or an indication that the nam...

C-TPAT qualifications for air carriers: Active air carrier transporting cargo shipments to the US; Have an active Airline Code registered with CBP; Possess a valid continuous international carrier bond registered with the CBP; Have designated company official that will be the primary cargo security officer responsible for the C-TPAT program; Commit to maintaining C-TPAT security guidelines for air carriers; Create and provide CBP with a C-TPAT supply chain security profile, which identifies how the air carrier will meet, maintain and enhance internal policy to meet the C-TPAT security guidelines for air carriers. Security Guidelines for Air Carriers Air Carriers must conduct a comprehensive assessment of their international supply chain based on the C-TPAT security guidelines. Where an air cargo outsource or contracts elements of their supply chain such as conveyance, foreign facility, domestic warehouses or any other elements, the air carrier must work with these busi...

Rail carrier must have written and verifiable processes for the screening of new business partners, including the carrier's agents, sub-contracted rail carriers, service providers as well as screening procedures for new customers, beyond financial soundness issues to include security indicators. These processes apply to business partners and service providers not eligible for C-TPAT membership. Security Procedures Written procedures must be in place to address specific factors or practices, the presence of which would trigger additional scrutiny by the rail carrier. The US CBP will work in partnership with the rail carriers to identify specific information regarding what factors, practices, circumstances or risks are relevant. For business partners eligible for C-TPAT endorsement (importers, ports, terminals, brokers, consolidators, etc), the rail carrier must have documentations like C-TPAT certificate, SVI number, etc indicating whether these business partners are or are...

Rail carriers must carry out a comprehensive assessment of their security practices based on the C-TPAT minimum security criteria. Recognizing that rail carriers do not control their shippers and have a common carrier obligation to transport goods tendered to them, rail carriers shall work with their shippers on their security practices as set forth in these criteria. These minimum security criteria are fundamentally designed to be the building blocks for rail carriers to institute effective security practices designed to optimize supply chain performance to mitigate the risk of loss, theft and contraband smuggling that could potentially introduce terrorists and implements of terrorism into the global supply chain sector. Rail carriers should periodically assess their degree of vulnerability to risk and should prescribe security measures to strength or adjust their security posture to prevent security breaches and internal conspiracies. The determination and scope of criminal el...

Sea carriers must have written and verifiable procedures for the screening of carrier's agents and other service providers contracted to provide transportation services for the carrier. Sea carriers also must have screening procedures for new customers, beyond financial soundness issues to include indicators of whether the customer appears to be a legitimate business and/or posses a security risk. Sea carriers shall also have procedures to review their customer's requests that could affect the safety of the vessel or the cargo or otherwise raise significant security questions, including unusual customer demands, such as specific stowage placement onboard the vessel (beyond a request for below deck or on deck stowage). Security procedures Sea carriers must have written or web-based procedures for screening of new customers to whom they issue bills of lading, which identify specific factors or practices, the presence of which would trigger additional scrutiny by the sea ...