newsworthy
C-TPAT-worthy? Prove it!
The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a message for non–asset-based third-party logistics service providers (3PLs)
that want to join the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
(C-TPAT): Prove you belong.
Effective Jan. 1, 3PLs will not be considered for C-TPAT participation if they do not own aircraft, warehouses, vehicles, or other transportation assets. Entities that only provide services in domestic commerce will also be excluded. The reason, CBP says, is that those companies are “unable to enhance supply chain security throughout the
international supply chain” and thus do not qualify for C-TPAT
enrollment. (Under C-TPAT, companies submit plans to CBP that
show they have tight security measures in place throughout their
supply chains. Those that pass an audit of their security standards
and procedures receive expedited clearance for cargo entering U.S.
commerce.)
As part of the implementation process, CBP has launched an
online “C-TPAT enrollment sector” that gives 3PLs an opportunity
to demonstrate that they meet the criteria for acceptance into the
program. Each applicant must pass an initial review. After it clears
that hurdle, it must then undergo a second and more rigorous
screening to determine if it passes muster.
Those eligibility requirements, issued last September, are considered
the bare minimum for entry into C-TPAT, CBP says. Aside from showing they own or manage assets and engage in international commerce,
3PLs must prove they are licensed or bonded by the Department of
Transportation, the Federal Maritime Commission, the
Transportation Security Administration, or CBP. They must also
maintain a staffed office in the United States, and they cannot contract
out a service if the contractor plans to outsource that work to a non-C-TPAT member.
None of this sits well with 3PLs, who believe CBP’s eligibility
requirements are discriminatory and run counter to C-TPAT’s mission of strengthening supply chain security. John Stirrup, vice president, policy and government affairs for the Transportation
Intermediaries Association, says his group is concerned that its members who engage in international commerce may be excluded because
they don’t own or manage any assets. Stirrup says TIA has repeatedly
pleaded its case to CBP, only to be rebuffed.
CBP says that C-TPAT’s eligibility requirements are consistent with
the agency’s need to focus on what it calls the “two most vulnerable
nodes” in the global supply chain: the point where a container is
stuffed, and the journey from the stuffing location to the departure
port or airport. The agency also says it must balance safeguarding the
supply chain with the need to avoid duplicating existing security
efforts. Part of this balancing act involves identifying and, if necessary,
excluding companies that can’t prove they own or manage assets or
engage in international trade.
“What we are looking to do is exclude people who have two desks, a
phone, and a computer and want to enroll in the program,” says a
source close to the agency. The agency directive will not affect those
3PLs currently enrolled in C-TPAT, the source says.
—M.S.
ground breakers
Averitt Express, a
freight transportation and supply
chain services com-
pany, has expanded its presence in
Georgia with the opening of a 123-
door facility in West Atlanta. The new
facility has 52,000 square feet of dock
space, which is double the amount of
dock space at Averitt’s previous
Atlanta facility. In addition to this new
building, Averitt also operates area
facilities in Norcross and Marietta, Ga.
Associated Material Handling
Industries, one of the nation’s largest
material handling equipment dealers,
has opened a 90,000-square-foot
building in Addison, Ill. The new facility, which will serve as corporate
headquarters and the Central Division
operations center, will also house a
training and resource center to support sales, service, parts, and rental
operations. Associated Material
Handling is a leading dealer of
Raymond electric forklift trucks.
Amazon.com loves Indiana. The
online retailer is planning a third distribution center for the state, this one to
be located at the Airtech Logistics Park
near the Indianapolis International
Airport. At the end of 2007, Amazon
announced plans to place a DC in
Munster, a town in northwest Indiana,
and in March 2008, the company
picked the town of Whitestown for
another DC. Together, the three
Amazon facilities will create more than
1,600 jobs in the next three years.
Bulbs.com, an Internet retailer of
light bulbs and fixtures, is moving into
a 205,000-square-foot facility in
Worchester, Mass. The company’s old
distribution operations were in a
multi-level building. The move to the
new facility, a renovated factory, will
allow it to consolidate operations on
one level.
