newsworthy
lawmaker takes up 3PLs’ C-TPAT fight
For more than 18 months, the group representing the nation’s
third-party logistics service providers (3PLs) has waged a lonely
and futile battle to convince the U.S. Bureau of Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) that non-asset-based 3PLs should be
allowed to join the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
(C-TPAT), one of the agency’s primary tools to fight terrorism
while facilitating the flow of commerce.
Now the battle has been joined on Capitol Hill.
Rep. William L. Owens (D-N. Y.), whose district spans the state’s
northernmost region and sits adjacent to the U.S.-Canadian border, has taken up the industry’s cause. In a May 6 letter to Customs
Commissioner Alan Bersin, Owens said CBP’s policy to limit C-TPAT participation to 3PLs that own transport and warehousing
assets is a “disservice to the safety of our citizens” because millions
of trucks cross U.S. borders each year under the direction of 3PLs
who don’t own or operate the assets.
Owens also took issue with CBP’s decision to exclude non-asset-based 3PLs from C-TPAT while allowing customs brokers,
non-vessel-operating common carriers, ocean freight forwarders,
and cargo consolidators to join. It makes no sense that a customs
broker that may own no assets and is not controlling the physical
load can enroll in C-TPAT while a 3PL cannot, the lawmaker said
in his letter to Bersin.
“It appears to me that [the policy] does not take into account
how business actually functions but rather tends to impede how
business functions,” said Owens, who before being elected to
Congress in November 2009 spent most of his career as an attorney in northern New York. Among his clients were firms that did
cross-border trade with Canada.
In early June, CBP notified Owens’ office that it had received his
letter and was determining how to proceed. The Transportation
Intermediaries Association (TIA), which represents the nation’s
3PLs and has been lobbying CBP for its members to be included
in C-TPAT, was expected to meet with Bersin by the end of June,
according to an official close to the situation.
Under the eligibility requirements for 3PLs that took effect on
Jan. 1, 2009, intermediaries that only do business in the domestic
U.S. trade are also excluded from C-TPAT participation. In order
to be eligible, 3PLs must engage in international commerce and
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 cannot contract
out a service if the contractor then plans to outsource the work to
a company not enrolled in C-TPAT.
CBP has said its eligibility requirements for C-TPAT are designed
to prevent companies with bare-bones operations, such as a computer, a desk, and a phone, from joining the program. The agency
also wants to restrict C-TPAT enrollment to providers who engage
in international commerce because international origin points are
considered the most vulnerable nodes of the supply chain.
newsmakers
; Reddwerks, a developer of warehouse
management software, has announced that
Jim Black has joined the company as vice
president of operations. Black brings more
than 25 years of experience to his new job.
Prior to joining Reddwerks, he held senior
positions at Motorola, Lucent, Hewlett
Packard, and AMD.
The company also announced the hiring of
Donald Neville as senior vice president and
chief financial officer. Neville, who previously
worked for Argyle Security and ClearCube
Technology, brings over 25 years of financial
management experience in the technology
sector to his new assignment.
; Battery Handling Systems Inc. (BHS) has
announced that Kenny Galdeen has joined
the company as eastern regional manager.
Galdeen brings experience as both an account
manager and a regional manager in the industry to his new position.
; Brien Craft, who has served as general
manager of Wal-Mart’s James City, Va., distribution center since 2002, has been promoted
to senior director of logistics for Sam’s Club.
In his new role, Craft will oversee 10 distribution centers that serve 610 Sam’s Club outlets
in the eastern half of the United States.
; Cross Bros., a global material handling and logistics
automation specialist, has
hired Dan Cavanaugh as senior project manager. In his
new position, Cavanaugh will
be responsible for international customer relationships. Cavanaugh, who
previously worked for mk North America Inc.,
brings over 15 years of experience as an engineer and material handling specialist to his
new position.
CAVANAUGH
; FedEx Express has appointed Gerald Leary
regional president of FedEx Express Europe,
Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa.
Leary, who has worked for FedEx Corp. in a
variety of roles since 1974, most recently
served as the company’s senior vice president,
European operations.
